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THE PRIME MINISTER 

LiPZ .\ND TIMES OF 
DAVID LLOYD GEORGE 

HAROLD SPEN'DLx 




From a I'hotofjmph hi/ Miss Olirc t'dis. F.R.P.8. 




THE 
PRIME MINISTER 



BY 

HAROLD SPENDER 



"Who, if he be called upon to facfc 
Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined 
Great issues, good or bad, for himian kind. 
Is happy as a Lover; and attired 
With sudden brightness, like a Man inspired." 

The Hapfy Warrior. 




NEW H| gir YORK 
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 






COPYRIGHT. 1920, 
BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 



PunbsliGr 



PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



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m 2b I32U 
0)Cl.A6il663^ 

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FOREWORD 

My thanks are due for assistance in writing this 
book to Mr. Lloyd George, with regard to whom I 
have the privilege of drawing on the memories of 
twenty-seven years of unbroken friendship; to Mrs. 
Lloyd George; to Mr. William George, the Prime 
Minister's only brother; to Mr. Philip Kerr and Miss 
Stevenson, C.B.E., his secretaries; and to Mr. Arthur 
Rhys Roberts, formerly his professional partner. 

For certain chapters I owe particular thanks to Sir 
John Stavridi, Consul-General of Greece and Council- 
lor of the Greek Legation; to Sir Hubert Llewellyn 
Smith, G.C.B., Permanent Secretary of the Board of 
Trade; and to Mr. W. T. Layton, C.B.E., formerly 
of the Ministry of Munitions. 

I wish also to express my gratitude to all the other 

numerous persons who have so generously helped me m 

this important task. 

H. S. 

London, ig20. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Childhood (1863- 1873) 11 

II School Days (1873-1877) 26 

III Youth (1877-1881) 41 

IV Early Manhood (i 881-1886) .... 51 
V Marriage (i 886-1 888) . .' . . . . 61 

VI Enters Parliament (1888-1891) ... 75 

VII First Skirmishes (1891-1892) .... 88 

VIII Pitched Battles (1892-1899) .... 100 

IX South Africa (i 899-1902) 114 

X For Wales and For England (1902-1906) 128 

XI A Minister (1906-1908) 139 

XII A German Tour (1908) . . . . . . 150 

XIII Civil Strifes (1908-1914) 161 

XIV A War Man (1914-1915) 172 

XV East or West? (1915) 183 

XVI Serbia (1915) 195 

XVII Munitions (1915) 206 

XVIII The New Ministry of Munitions . . 218 

XIX Premiership (1916) 231 

XX The Saving of Italy 245 

XXI The Versailles Council 257 

XXII Victory . 269 

v» 



\nii CONTEXTS 

CHAPTER 9K€K 

XXI I I The Peace Conference 285 

XXIV The New World 304 

XX\' The Man 319 

XX\T Highways and Byways 331 

XX\'II Through Foreign Eyes 345 

Appendix 

A Principal Dates in Mr. Lloyd George's 

Life 359 

B The Crisis of December, 1916: The Cor- 
respondence Between Mr. Asquith .\.nd 
Mr. Lloyd George 361 

C The Peace Conference: Minute of the 
Critical Russian Debate of January, 

1919 369 

D The "Fourteen Points" 378 

Index 383 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

The Right Hon. David Lloyd George, O.M., M.P. 

Frontispiece 

Mr. William George, the Father of David Llotd 
George jg 

"Highgate"— NOW "Rose Cottage"— ^he Cottage 

AT LlANYSTUMDWY WHERE Mr. LlOYD GeORGE 

WAS brought up as a Boy i6 

"Uncle Lloyd": Mr. Richard Lloyd, the Uncle 

OF David Lloyd George ^g 

The Smithy at Llanystumd wy; the old "Village 

Parliament" .§ 

Mrs. William George, the Mother of David 

Lloyd George 80 

David Lloyd George at the Age of Sixteen . 80 

Mrs. Lloyd George ^20 

David Lloyd George as a Young Man. . . . 320 



THE PRIME MINISTER 



THE PRIME MINISTER 



CHAPTER I 



CHILDHOOD 



"When that I was and a little tiny boy, 
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain." 

Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Act v, Sc. i. 

Every school-child is familiar with that striking 
shape taken by North Wales on the map of Britain, 
so like to a human being pointing with outstretched 
arm down St. George's Channel towards the Atlantic. 
In that shape Anglesey is the head, and Carnarvon- 
shire is the pointed arm. On the lower side of the 
arm, towards the hollow of the armpit, there lie a vil- 
lage and two small towns. Naming from west to east 
they are Llanystumdwy, Criccieth, and Portmadoc. 

In these three places and in the country around 
them the childhood and youth of David Lloyd George 
was entirely spent. It was there that he was trained 
and educated, and there that his mind first formed 
vivid impressions of the universe — there, on the sea- 
limits of Wales between the mountains and the ocean. 

It is a fertile country, watered by streams from the 
mountains and showers from the Irish Channel, a 
country of deep grasses and rich woods right up to the 
foot of the mountains and down to the verge of the 

II 



1« THE PRIME MINISTER 

sea. From every raised point you obtain wide-stretch- 
ing views. Facing you along the south-eastern horizon 
are the hills of Merionethshire, often shrouded in sea- 
mist, but on good days clear to the utmost detail of 
field and hedgerow. Still farther away, in the very' best 
weather, can sometimes be seen even the outline of 
St. David's Head and of the Pembrokeshire hills. 
Nearer home, the great stretch of Cardigan Bay sweeps 
round to the east in many a bend and fold of the coast. 
From above Criccieth you can see the famous castle 
of Harlech and the golden glitter of the sands at Bar- 
mouth, though you cannot hear the "moaning of the 
bar." Taking it all in all, there are few finer pros- 
pects along the immense and varied sea-board of these 
islands. 

Turn from the sea and look northwards; and you 
will gain glorious glimpses of the great piled mountains 
of the Snowdon group, sometimes hidden in cloud, 
sometimes clear to every wrinkle of their rugged out- 
lines. These are "Eyri" — the "Eagle Rocks" — black 
in storm, blue and green in the sunshine, purple and 
crimson in the sunset. There is no mere prettiness in 
these mighty views, no soft luxury of Italian back- 
grounds, and yet no barren terrors of arctic solitudes. 
On all sides there is majesty and power — the power 
of the height and the storm, the majesty of the winds 
and the deeps. 

Of these three places in which Mr. Lloyd George 
spent his childhood and youth, Portmadoc is the busi- 
ness town, Criccieth is the pleasure resort, and Llany- 
stumdwy is the village. Portmadoc, with its straight- 
set streets of little grey houses, speaks of money and 
affairs; Criccieth is a little watering-place of lodging- 



CHILDHOOD 1« 

houses and villas prettily placed in the innermost bend 
of Cardigan Bay; Llanystumdwy is just a little Welsh 
village drawn back from the sea and cosily hidden away 
in the woods, astride a little mountain river which hur- 
ries down to the sea with many a rippling murmur and 
many a gleam of white foam on its brown waters. 

It was to this little village of Llanystumdwy — 
Welsh of the Welsh in name, situation, and tradition 
• — that David Lloyd George was brought at the age of 
a year and a half. 

Up to that time, indeed, life had not gone very well 
with the young child. For his father, William George, 
had just died in the prime of his life, at forty-four 
years of age. Mrs. William George, with David and 
his elder sister Mary, had been left but scantily pro- 
vided to face an unsmiling world. 

David's father, WiUiam George, was an able, earn- 
est man, very sociable, full of fun and humour, and 
very happy in his home life. Brought up on a pros- 
perous farm in South Wales, he could easily have fol- 
lowed smoothly and serenely in the steps of his thriv- 
ing forefathers. For there, on that fertile coast, his 
father and grandfather had farmed well and fared 
sumptuously, holding their heads high.* 

But William George was not content with farming. 
Early in life he fell in love with books and the things 
of the mind; and through his short life he wandered 

*Here is his pedigree on the paternal side: 

William George (farmer) and his wife (lived to 80 and 90 years re- 

1 spectively) 

David George (farmer, died at 33) 

William George (schoolmaster, died at 44) 

David Lloyd George. 



14. THE PRIME MINISTER 

— a true "scholar-gipsy" — from school to school, try- 
ing to kindle the youth of Wales to the passion for 
knowledge in those early difficult days before the Edu- 
cation Acts had come to make the schoolmaster a power 
in the land. He taught in London and Liverpool; he 
opened a grammar-school of his own in Haverford- 
west; he served the Free Churches and the Unitarians 
— any and all who felt the fire of knowledge and shared 
his passion to extend its power. He became the friend 
of that great, pure spirit, Henry Martineau ^ — a fact 
alone sufficient to prove his high quality. 

The fire of the schoolmaster's zeal burnt him up. 
He was never a strong man; and a life of excessive 
labour had exhausted him before his time. He re- 
solved to lay down his ferule and return to the land 
of his forefathers. As his last teaching task, he took 
a temporary headmastership at Manchester and lodged 
in a little house in York Place, off Oxford Road. A 
few years before, when teaching at Pwllheli, he had 
loved and wedded Elizabeth, the daughter of a Bap- 
tist minister, David Lloyd, who preached and min- 
istered in Criccieth and the village of Llanystumdwy. 

With fair skin and a wealth of dark hair, Mrs. Wil- 
liam George was in youth and early womanhood a 
comely and fascinating woman. I saw her only in later 
life; and, though sorrows and trials had told on her 
frail frame, her troubles had only added to the fine 
charm and spirituality of her character. "Happy he 
with such a mother!" She proved to William George 

'A large engraving of Dr. Henry Martineau, signed by himself 
and set in a massive oak frame, is one of the treasured family heir- 
looms to-day. 



CHILDHOOD 15 

a capital housewife, and helped him to save enough 
to leave to her a small property even out of their hard- 
earned savings. 

To this couple had already been born the daughter 
Mary. Now, on January 17th, 1863, a son was born 
also and named David, after his two grandfathers — 
David George and David Lloyd. His admiring father 
recorded at the time that the little David was a 
"sturdy, healthy little fellow" with curly hair. At any 
rate, his father thought so; and thus, as a last flash 
of happiness to his dying father, little David came into 
the world. 

By such a chance twist of events, Manchester can 
claim to be the birthplace of David Lloyd George. 

Before he went to Manchester, William George had 
already decided to give up schoolmastering; and soon 
after David's birth, towards the end of 1863, he left 
Manchester and entered into occupation of a small 
farm named Bwlford, about four miles from Haver- 
fordwest in Pembrokeshire. 

It was close to the home of his fathers. 

But this change came too late to save his life. He 
was already a tired man,- and he was not equal to the 
strain of outdoor labour. On June 7th, 1864, he died 
of pneumonia, due to a chill caught in gardening. 

Thus little David was left fatherless before he had 
lived eighteen months on the earth; and on the thres- 
hold of life he was robbed of the influence which 
ought to be the strongest prop and stay of a young 
boy's life. His father left him before the age of mem- 
ory. Yet memory is a strange thing; for when Mr. 
Lloyd George revisited the home of his infancy some 



16 THE PRLME MINISTER 

few years ago, he recalled instantly, with surprising 
accuracy, some features of his father's farm.^ 

The sudden death of William George left David's 
mother with two small children on her hands, and 
another on the way to this vale of tears. The family 
inheritance ought to have left her in comparative se- 
curity to bring up this family well. But William 
George, with that large-hearted generosity which had 
always characterised him, had allowed the family patri- 
mony which devolved on him as heir-at-law to be en- 
joyed by others whom he thought to be in greater need 
than himself. Such savings as they had put together 
from a schoolmaster's salary could not suffice to bring 
up a family in comfort or security. Thus to the grief 
of her husband's death there was added for Mrs- 
William George a grave and acute anxiety for the up- 
bringing of her children. It looked as if that little 
family would be driven into that wilderness of poverty 
which is no easy dwelling-place in these islands. 

But far away up in Carnarvonshire, in that little 
Welsh village which was her birth-place, Mrs. William 
George had a brother named Richard Lloyd. ^ He was 
not at all like the wealthy godfather of the story- 
books. He was not by any means rich or prosperous. 
He was just the village bootmaker at a time when boots 
were still made in villages. True, he was also, like his 
father before him, a preacher and a minister. But 
he possessed no rich living or easy sinecure; on the 
contrary, like Paul the tent-maker, he received no 

* He noticed that a passage had been widened, and he asked after 
a green gate which was found to have been removed. He can still 
remember his sister putting stones under the gate to prevent the men 
from coming to take away his father's goods. 

'At this time thirty years of age. Born in July 1834. 



pr — 
5 

I 

i 




MR. WII.IJAM GEORGE, THE FATHER OP nAVID I.T.OYT) GEORGE. 



a 2 






' ^ 




CHILDHOOD 17 

penny of pay for either his preaching or his ministry. 
He belonged to a religious community classed with 
the Baptists and called the "Disciples of Christ," who 
held a belief, unpopular in ecclesiastical circles, that 
a man ought to preach the Gospel of Christ and feed 
His flock without pay or reward.^ 

In that simple faith he then preached and taught 
in the plain, grey little chapel above Criccieth and bap- 
tized in the little green basin of fresh spring water 
ever renewed by the running stream. 

Yet this preaching bootmaker did not seem to have 
suffered seriously in his Christianity by this strange 
and rare distaste for endowment. If It be still, as an 
Apostle once thought, "true religion and undefiled" to 
"visit the widow and the fatherless," Richard Lloyd 
went straight to the mark. For on receiving his, sis- 
ter's tragic news he put down his tools, left his work- 
shop, and started out to help his bereaved relations. 
There was no railway from Criccieth to Carnarvon in 
those days; so for some twenty miles he journeyed on 
foot. Then from Carnarvon he took the train to 
Haverfordwest, and joined his widowed sister on her 
farm, a true friend and comforter. He stayed foi;; 
some months helping her with the sale of her farm-lease 
and her stock. Then he took back the mother and 
the two children, Mary and David, to his own little 
home at Llanystumdwy. That is a plain record of a 
simple and heroic act. 

There, in that little Welsh mountain village, with- 

*The movement had Its origin in one of those great efforts after 
a return to simple Christianity which have from time to time stirred 
the surface of the Welsh Churches. This was led by Mr. J. R. 
Jones of Ramoth, who died in 1822. David Lloyd became one of 
its elders, and was largely influenced by the writings of the Campbells. 
The Campbellites in the United States still number some 2,000,000. 



18 THE PRIME MINISTER 

out any show or fuss, the sister and her children be- 
came part of Richard Lloyd's home. A few months 
later the third child was born posthumously — a second 
boy, William George. The little stranger was wel- 
comed in that simple, hospitable home. 

So for the next twelve years the little family lived 
and throve in the bootmaker's cottage at Llanystum- 
dwy; and there, in those village surroundings, little 
David grew from infancy to manhood. 

Let us see what the surroundings were. 

The little cottage stands to-day for all the world 
to visit — two-storied, four-roomed, creepered, slate- 
roofe'd; then called "Highgate," now "Rose Cottage" 
— a sweet-smelling name. The front door opens on to 
the living-room — a warm, cosy chamber with a raf- 
tered ceiling, a big fire-place, and a floor of worn slate- 
slabs. It was in this room that the family had their 
meals and gathered in the evenings when the uncle 
read and talked to them. It was there that he cheered 
and rebuked those growing boys. 

You step round a low screen into a smaller room, 
once a storeroom for leather, but in those years used 
as the boys' study. Here the boys were "interned" 
during the daily hours of home work; for Uncle Lloyd 
was as strict as he was kind. 

Between the two rooms a small cottage staircase 
mounts to the bedrooms — now three, in those days 
two. The boys slept in the little front room looking 
over the street. 

Descend again and pass through the back door. You 
pass into a fair-sized cottage garden, with several fruit- 
trees — apple, plum, and gooseberry. Every inch of 



CHILDHOOD 19 

the soil is filled with vegetables. There are traces of 
an old pigsty that once stood against the cottage wall. 
Move a few steps to your left, and you can enter a 
little stone building that gives the impression of having 
been a single-roomed cottage. It is now like a capa- 
cious cave. This was Richard Lloyd's workshop. 
There is a large fireplace in the corner near the garden. 
On the side nearer the road is a space where the 
benches of Richard Lloyd's workmen ran along the wall 
by the small window. There by the door is the little 
hole in the wall where Richard Lloyd kept his papers 
and into which the boys pushed their books. It looks 
like an old spy-hole, now blocked at the farther end. 

This place was not merely a workshop. It was 
known as "the village Parliament." Here the "village 
Hampdens" poured out their grievances; hither the 
evicted farmers and underpaid labourers came to con- 
sult the village oracle. On wet days the place was 
crowded. For bootmakers are notorious storm-centres 
both in town and country; and this bootmaker was a 
prophet and priest as well. 

It was always both the refuge and the guard-room 
of the village children. There, against the corner, 
looking into the sad grey wall, stood the children who 
had misbehaved, waiting for Richard Lloyd's kindly 
word of release. Good boys would often bring bad 
boys to be punished ; and the good boys did not always 
get off without a clearance of soul. Who could tell 
whether "Uncle Lloyd" was going to be stern or soft? 
It was always a fascinating mystery for children — 
that workshop ; in any case, there were always the boot- 
makers' tools to finger and handle if you were lucky. 
The children knew that Uncle Lloyd found it very hard 



20 THE PRIME MINISTER 

to refuse a thread; and what more fascinating than 
beeswax? Sticky, black, and smelly! But put out 
your hand for the knife — then ten to one he would see 
you — and instantly the stern look would come into his 
grey eyes, his eyebrows would contract, and he would 
cry in the voice which thrilled you — "No! No! Not 
that! Not that!" 

Pass out of this little crumbling old building, with 
the slates now sagging down as if the whole thing might 
collapse, but for the one upright beam which now 
supports the roof, and take a few steps still to your 
left along the stone footpath. There you find the gar- 
den divided from the street only by a low wall of 
rubble. Over that wall, David — like that other David, 
the sweet-singing psalmist of Israel ^ would often leap, 
and head across the village on some boyish adven- 
ture. 

In these buildings the Lloyds had lived for several 
generations. There is still (1920) living in the vil- 
lage of Llanystumdwy an old tailor of ninety-five 
years of age whose chief pride it is that he made the 
first pair of trousers for the Prime Minister of Eng- 
land. The old man can remember David Lloyd, the 
grandfather of the Prime Minister, cutting leather in 
the little room on the right of the entrance door of 
the cottage. He can remember this friend and neigh- 
bour, who was also a minister and preacher, breaking 
forth into singing verse when moved, as those bardic 
preachers of Wales are still wont to do.- Bobby Jones, 
the son of this old tailor, was one of David's intimate 
comrades of boyhood; and they two carved their names 

* Sec Psalm xviii. verse 29. 

* He was ordained on May 20th, 1828, in the Baptist chapel at 
Cricdeth and died in 1839. This singing habit is known as "hwyl." 



CHILDHOOD 21 

together on the trees in the woods and on the village 
bridge. 

Many legends have already grown round Richard 
Lloyd's cottage and the life lived in it. There is no 
need to exaggerate the poverty of that home. Richard 
Lloyd was a master boot-maker and always employed 
at least two hands. He must have earned a good week- 
ly sum. His chief fault was that he could not collect 
his money. It was somewhat distressing to Mrs. Wil- 
liam George to hear her brother serenely say to cus- 
tomers : "I can wait — any time will do." She, being 
a woman, well knew that in the matter of collecting 
debts there is no time like the present. 

At any rate, all that he had was theirs. They were 
fed on simple fare — more oats and barley, as Mr. 
Lloyd George has since told us, than wheat — but they 
were well fed. Eggs were cheap in the village, and 
the garden was full of vegetables. There were doubt- 
less hard times. There was little meat — perhaps they 
were none the worse for that. But these children were 
nevertheless always held up in school as models of 
neatness and cleanliness. There was little to spare for 
pleasure. There was no easy flow of "pocket-money" 
for these boys. But they possessed the heart of the 
whole matter. They loved one another, and they were 
happy. "It was a little paradise," says one who stayed 
there often,^ and when asked to explain she adds: 
"there was such high talk." 

"Plain living and high thinking," was the note of 
that little home. Here, indeed, was — 

"Fearful innocence, 
And pure religion, breathing household laws." 

* Miss Jones, a niece of Richard Lloyd. 



22 THE PRIME MINISTER 

There was also much kindness and humanity. Rich- 
ard Lloyd could not for long be a stern uncle. The 
pictures handed down to us are Goldsmithian in their 
quaint and simple charm — the little David sitting on 
one of his uncle's knees and punctuating his infant 
periods by beating his fist on the other; or, in later 
years, wheedling his uncle with some clever boyish 
defence of an indefensible prank; or listening for long 
hours, with open mouth and eyes, to the "deep sighing 
of the poor," as the farmers and labourers from all the 
district round poured their tales of woe into the ears 
of the gentle village seer. 

I saw much of Richard Lloyd at a later time. He 
was a man who always lived on the heights of thought 
and feeling; he was one of nature's great men to whom 
goodness was a delight: he was one of God's cru- 
saders. Tall and bearded, but with a clean-shaven 
mouth and dark eyebrows, he was a man of singular 
dignity and strength both in bearing and expression. 
It is difficult to describe the impression of mingled 
strength and tenderness which he gave. His face had 
some of the vigour of the eagle; and yet with it all 
his voice had some of the softness of the dove. He 
loved children with all the strength of his large, warm 
heart; and yet he was never weak with them, but some- 
times very stern, w^ith the strength of those who can 
be "cruel only to be kind." 

"He was the most selfless man I ever knew," is the 
deliberate verdict of one of his foster children to-day. 
"Even in illness he never spoke of himself. It was 
painful to him even to think of himself." 

Such was the high influence that filled that little 
cottage and made it a fit nurser}' for a ruler of men. 



CHILDHOOD ' S3 

From the moment that Richard Lloyd took over the 
guardianship of his sister's bereaved family he gave to 
the task all his resources of money, love, and wisdom. 
He was not one of those who know limits to giving — 

"Give all thou canst; high Heaven rejects the lore 
Of nicely calculated less or more." 

He laboured for these children as if they had been his 
own. If money was spared it was only to save it for 
their better training in later years. 

The only available school at that time in Llandy- 
stumdwy was the National School provided by the Es- 
tabhshed Church of England and Wales; and to that 
school the children had to go. Many years afterwards, 
when the House of Commons was in the midst of one 
of its chronic wrangles over religious education, Mr. 
Lloyd George startled the High Churchmen by putting 
himself forward as a specimen of their chosen educa- 
tion. He was well within the letter of the fact; but 
I doubt whether the Llanystumdwy Voluntary School 
at that time could be called an average Church School; 
for the head master of the school — a Welshman named 
David Evarts — was more than an average schoolmas- 
ter.i He was a good "scholar" and mathematician, 
and he taught well. He gave the young boys that thor- 
ough grounding in the elements of knowledge which 
is really a better gift for the young than all the frills 
of a more dainty schooling. Richard Lloyd, at any 
rate, showed his confidence in this teaching by keeping 
the boys on at school for two years beyond the or- 
dinary limited time. From twelve to fourteen years 

^ See Mr. Lloyd George's charming sketch of the schoolmaster in his 
speech at Llanystumdwy on September 8th, 1917: "He had a genius 
for teaching." , 



«4 THE PRIME MINISTER 

of age David Lloyd George worked with a small group 
of boys also still remaining on at school in what would 
now be called an "Ex Vllth" standard. These boys 
carried their mathematics on as far as trigonometry, 
learned the elements of Latin, and were encouraged 
to read widely. David Evans kept a close eye on these 
studies, and Richard Lloyd found the fees well worth 
his while. 

I have talked to one of the boys ^ who stayed on 
at school with David Lloyd George, and his impres- 
sions of that time are still very vivid. His recollection 
is that David Lloyd George was the quickest boy of this 
little group. David could do twice as much work as 
any other boy in the same time. He still remembers 
the envy and annoyance which this habit used to cause 
among David's companions. But little David was espe- 
cially quick at higher mathematics. "He was through 
trigonometry," says this witness, "by the time we 
started." He was very rapid at mental arithmetic. 

But perhaps the most active part of his growth came 
outside his school life. Most of the other boys of their 
age had left school and gone out to work, and those 
few picked ones that remained were a small company 
and hardly numerous enough for games on a large 
scale. Thus it was that they took to walking instead 
of play; and during these walks David began to de- 
velop that habit of keen discussion which he has loved 
throughout his life. His favourite subjects in those 
days were Baptism and Tithe. Among the little com- 
pany were two pupil-teachers who were a little older 
than the boys themselves. Both of these teachers were 
destined for the Church; one of them became a rector 

*Mr. William Williams, who occupies a farm near Llanystumdwy. 



CHILDHOOD 25 

and another became a canon of St. David's.^ We can 
imagine the debates that took place within this little 
company of keen, honest, ardent youths ! 

Thus, in this varied life of work and play, the young 
David grew from infancy to youth, there in that distant 
little Welsh village, between the mountains and the 
sea. 

^The Rev. Owen Owens and Canon Camber- Williams of St. 
David's. 



CHAPTER II 

SCHOOL DAYS 

"Ye Presences of Nature in the sky 
And on the earth! Ye visions of the hills 
And Souls of lonely places! can I think 
A vulgar hope was yours when ye employed 
Such ministry?" 

Wordsworth's Prelude. 

The training of a little Welsh Nonconformist child 
in a village Church School must lead either to sub- 
mission or to revolt. In most cases it leads to sub- 
mission. In this case it led to revolt. That is what 
makes the story of David Lloyd George worth tell- 
ing. 

To subject children of one faith to the religious 
discipline of another in a school subsidised by the State 
was, and still is, part of the ordinary machinery of life 
in this island; and it is generally acquiesced in by 
children, who as a rule suffer from a great fear of 
varying from their kind. 

But in this case there were influences behind the boy 
which suggested the thought of injustice; and there is 
no more flaming thought In the mind of a young child. 
There was the uncle in the workshop, type of the 
heroic and the divine; he was against the system, and 
did not hesitate to say so in the presence of the boys. 
Then there was the village blacksmith, whose "smithy." 
hard by the school, was a sort of village cave of Adul- 

26 



SCHOOL DAYS 27 

lam ; he said so between the clang of the hammer on 
the reverberant anvil, and what he said was law. No 
wonder that there stirred in the boy's mind the working 
wonder whether he should really submit. 

There was, for instance, the yearly visit of the rector, 
the squire, and the gentry, in full feudal state, to hear 
the replies to the Church Catechism — a sort of annual 
homage to the powers that were, not unusual in vil- 
lage schools. 

Then there was the visit of the Bishop, who was 
wilhng to confirm as many children. Baptist or other- 
wise, as the rector would present for him to lay hands 
on. 

Now David admired his schoolmaster and worked 
hard and steadily in the only school accessible to him. 
But when the Church tried to turn his necessity to such 
uses he remembered that he was a Nonconformist child 
born of Nonconformist parents. Then he became a 
rebel. 

The tales of these school revolts have already be- 
come part of the heroic legends of Wales. They have 
been told in many forms. I will try to tell the simple 
facts as gathered from contemporary witnesses and 
comrades. 

The most famous revolt occurred over the Cate- 
chism. We can recapture the scene. There were the 
three village authorities — the Squire, the Rector, and 
the Schoolmaster, together with the Diocesan Inspec- 
tor and a bevy of fair ladies — standing in front of the 
little class of Welsh children in the grey little building, 
expecting nothing but meekness and docihty. Nothing 
fierce about these visitors, you may be sure — rather an 
attitude of smiling expectancy as they waited to hear 



28 THE TRDIE MINISTER 

the children repeat in chorus the comforting assertion 
that they were ready to order themselves "lowly and 
reverently" to all their "betters." 

But look at the children. Their eyes look strangely 
bright and their lips are drawn together. There have 
been many whisperings on the way to school, and much 
flitting to and fro of the small Scotch cap with the 
ribbons that David wore. Some look flushed; others 
look grave and pale. Fear battles against resolve. 
Something big is struggling in those little minds. 

The rector puts his questions; the squire affably 
awaits the reply; the schoolmaster looks stem. Little 
David looks unusually innocent. 

There is a dead silence. 

The rector raises his eyebrows and repeats the 
question: 

"What is thy duty towards thy neighbour?" 

Still, a dead silence. 

And so the question is passed from child to child. 
The little heads are shaken. The little faces grow 
paler and paler. But still silence. 

The rector turns to the schoolmaster questioningly. 
The schoolmaster is white with vexation. The squire 
smiles indulgently. Little David looks more innocent 
than ever. 

But farther along the line, behind his little desk, 
sits a boy with a little troubled, anxious face, looking 
as if he were the centre of guilt in that little company. 
He watches with growing trouble the ashen face of the 
schoolmaster; for he loves his master with all his soul, 
and he cannot bear to see him suffer. For this is little 
William George — a boy of milder, quieter tempera- 
ment, given to love his enemies; and when his much- 



SCHOOL DAYS 29 

distressed head master appeals to the children to recite 
the Apostles' Creed it is William George who suddenly 
breaks the silence with a strident "I believe," and all 
but two or three "infant" Die-Hards join in the recital 
that followed. The schoolmaster turns to the class 
with a flush of pleasure; the rector smiles — "good 
boys" — the squire nods approvingly; and the scene ends 
as suddenly as it began. 

So much for the Catechism revolt. The second 
revolt arose over the Church's claim to "confirm." * 

It was little William Williams, one of David's inti- 
mates, who had been selected as a capture for the 
Bishop. His father, a Calvinistic Methodist, but with 
a kindly heart for the great, had surrendered the lad to 
the rector. William had been duly prepared and in- 
structed. Confirmation day had arrived. William 
Williams, shining with soap, smart in his best clothes, 
was already on the road — walking to school to join the 
church boys. There the little catechumens, all duly 
marshalled, were waiting to be marched off to the 
church. 

But on the way to school it was fated that William 
Williams should meet David Lloyd George. Seeing 
his friend so smart, David naturally asked what he was 
going to do. Williams told him. David's eyes flashed; 
his voice rang out. He argued; he persuaded; he 
urged. Not that ! Not that ! His winged words went 
home. In a few moments William Williams, aged 
fourteen, felt thoroughly ashamed of himself. His 
best clothes and his clean collar became garments of 
shame. He was willing to follow David anywhere. 

* Implying a belief in Infant Baptism, "Confirmation" is regarded 
as inconsistent with the creed of the Baptists. 



30 THE PRIME MINISTER 

The two boys managed to get out into the school- 
yard; and there, in the twinkling of an eye, they were 
over the wall. They hid behind the hedge. In a few 
moments out came the schoolmaster, hurried and eager; 
he could see no one in sight. He blew his whistle once, 
twice, and yet again. There was no reply. Time 
pressed. The Bishop could not be kept waiting. There 
was nothing for it but to go back and fetch the others. 

So David and William Williams stood and watched 
while the little procession of children, with their nicely 
washed faces, walked across the school-yard to the 
church. 

Then, when all had passed by, out came the two 
rebels. Without a pause they jumped over the wall, 
leapt into the road, and made for Richard Lloyd's 
workshop. Instantly, when he had heard their story, 
the bootmaker dropped his last and patted the boys on 
the back. "Well done, my boys!" he cried; "well 
done!" 

I will suggest to any Anglican reader that he should, 
for the moment, try to look at the situation from the 
point of view of his Nonconformist neighbour. Sup- 
pose that he, an Anglican parent, were obliged by law 
to send his boy to a Baptist School because no other 
school existed in his village. Suppose then that the 
Baptist minister took advantage of this situation to 
baptize the boy up to the neck in the village stream. 
What would the Anglican parent do? Why, probably 
something much more violent than cither uncle Lloyd 
or nephew David. 

Yet the spirit of rebellion is rare, and the act is 
slow. Doubtless there were other boys in that school 
whose hearts waxed hot within them, and other parents 



SCHOOL DAYS 31 

whose blood boiled. But they did nothing. Where 
David Lloyd George differed from the other boys, and 
his uncle from the other parents and guardians, was 
just here — that they acted while the others merely 
raged. That is the startling difference. 

They possessed that particular quality which ex- 
plodes in deeds. There it was already — this care 
thing called courage, which was, in process of time, 
to become the driving-wheel of the whole machine. 

It is not to be thought that a boy thus endowed was 
tO' prove a pattern boy in all directions. David was 
sound enough at heart; but he was certainly not a saint. 
He was not born with a halo round his curly head. In 
that little village he was often the leader of enterprises 
of pith and moment. He was not without suspicions 
of piracy. "It's that David Lloyd George," was the 
sure comment of the village mother when she found her 
fences down. Wherever those two ribbons were seen 
flying in the wmd, you might be sure that the other 
boys were not far behind. You would scent mischief 
in the tainted breeze. There was indeed much to be 
done. There were fish to be caught; rabbits to be 
snared; dogs to be trained. There was even — alas! — 
at one time a privy "cache" in the woods where pipes 
and tobacco were stored to be fearfully tested on uncer- 
tain stomachs. 

No, certainly David was no model of the boyish 
proprieties; no candidate for a stucco niche. He was 
already a Robin Hood of the woods, an adventurer of 
that winding, brawling stream. He led others into 
the adventures with him; for he was already gregarious 
to the finger-tips. He would draw along with him his 



82 THE PRIME MINISTER 

more cautious brother; and, somehow, it always seemed 
to be the brother who bore the weight of the trouble 
that followed. 

Not that David ever shirked the penalties of his 
youthful sins. He was ever ready to "face the music." 
He would bravely stand before his uncle in his sterner 
moods; and many an explosive of argument and re- 
proof had to be expended on his well-entrenched de- 
fences. 

Not that his uncle ever took up that relentless atti- 
tude which drives so many children faster on the down- 
ward path. He remembered the text — "Whom He 
loveth He chasteneth," or, as it has been rewritten, 
"lick 'im and love 'im." But Richard Lloyd never let 
the stripes blot out the love. He always believed in 
this boy David. That was the real secret of the uncle's 
influence. Beneath the rough, dusty ore he already 
saw the gleaming gold. 

There were indeed some rare features about this 
boy's character. His early companions testify to some 
features that still shine in memory. "He was the most 
kind-hearted boy I ever met," said one who was an 
inseparable. "If he ever got a penny he would buy 
his sweets, and then divide up the whole among the 
other boys." He was very fond of animals — a glori- 
ous virtue in the young. There was always a dog in 
his train — and a dog, being ever young, loves youth 
and mischief. Then David was ever full of pity for 
the weak. Pity and audacity met in his nature. They 
made him at school, as in after-life, a terror to the 
bully and a trial to the boaster. 

His youthful companions cannot remember that he 
was notably ambitious. But he was from early days a 



SCHOOL DAYS 3S 

lover of books; and that often held in leash his pas- 
sion for adventure. He rarely, for instance, played 
truant from school. There is one historic dawn, still 
standing out in red letters in the memory of his friends. 
On that morning the school-bell sounded to deaf ears; 
all that day those spirits from prison scampered by 
the river-side testing a new dog.^ The deed was never 
repeated. That day of glowing delight was probably 
burnt into his memory by one of those reprimands 
from an uncle whose words cut deeper than another's 
whips. 

There is, indeed, an epic story of a holiday hunt of 
a hare down in the Aberkin farm between the village 
and the sea. The boys followed the dogs and the dogs 
went through the river, but an old ganger on the rail- 
way refused to allow the boys to cross the bridge. But 
David was not to be daunted. "Come on, boys!" he 
cried ; and straight through the river he went almost up 
to his shoulders I 

As the years went on he became more serious. He 
conceived the idea of going to see the world. He spent 
weeks with maps and made a plan of a journey. Boys 
will do such things, and the difficulty generally comes 
when the tickets have to be bought. That was where 
David Lloyd George's plan broke down. But if he 
could not wander in the body, he could at any rate 
travel in the spirit. He read more and more as the 
years went on. After twelve, remaining on at school 
after his friends, he became rather a lonely boy. At 
that time he woul3 often go off with a book into the 
woods; and he acquired the habit of climbing a tree 

^"Bismarck" — a dog snatched from the streets of Hamburg and 
brought home by a sailor from the village — a bold and unscrupulous 
poacher. 



S4 THE PRIME MINISTER 

and there reading for hours in some kindly fork of 
the branches far away from his romping friends. 

There, alone in the woods, his mind formed ; and the 
shadowy whims of youth — perhaps influenced, like 
Wordsworth's, by the surrounding mountains and sea 
— steeled into firmer stuff. When he was a very small 
boy he would say, boy-like, to his uncle, "I am going 
to be a giant, like that tree." This infantile yearning 
after something larger than his natal fate seemed to 
grow upon him. A sense of power seemed to be work- 
ing within him. Strange, when you consider the cramp- 
ing conditions of his life. Here was a boy living in a 
little cottage in a remote Welsh village; talking a de- 
spised language; an obscure member of a race scoffed 
at by the powerful of this earth. He had already pro- 
claimed himself faithful to a religion contemned by 
all who wished to rise in life. He was surrounded by 
a peasantry long trained to humility; living in houses 
that belonged to others; with few rights in their own 
land — excluded from their own woods and fields by 
laws of trespass, and menaced with dire penalties if 
they killed the wild animals of their own land. He 
found himself born with little freedom beyond the lib- 
erty of the village street. There were few adventures 
for him that were not crimes in the eye of the law. 
In such a life there seemed enough to quell any grow- 
ing spirit and to crush any latent ambition. For in 
those days the social power of the Welsh squires was 
still scarcely challenged; their claims shadowed all the 
large spaces in the world around him. 

Yet this boy began to look at all this with candid, 
unprejudiced eyes. He began to grasp the fact that 
what was required was daring, and still daring. 



SCHOOLDAYS 85 

In this vision he was by no means alone. It was 
a perception dimly stirring in the minds of all those 
multitudes of youth who were then, during those years, 
the first to pass through the new schools of the nation 
and to win the franchise of the mind. Again, where 
he was alone was in the courage to pursue this vision — 
the courage to act as well as to see. 

At the age of fourteen (1877) it became necessary 
to choose a life-calling for David Lloyd George. The 
village National School had finished its work for the 
boy. The extra two years' schooling had brought him 
as far as that training could take him. 

Richard Lloyd was not indeed compelled by any law, 
human or divine, to carry the boy's education any fur- 
ther. He would certainly have achieved as much as 
most men consider due to a sister's child if he had now 
taken David from school and apprenticed him to his 
own honourable handicraft of boot-making. 

But Uncle Lloyd knew only too well the carking 
cares of a workman's life. He knew what it was to 
feel a mind-hunger which cannot be sated. Those who 
saw much of the preacher-bootmaker in those days tell 
how eager he was for books — how in this eagerness he 
struck up a very admirable friendship with the kindly 
village curate; how, after his long day's work, he would 
read half through the night, and how the village doc- 
tor, going on some errand of midnight or dawn, would 
still see the light of his candle shining through his bed- 
room window. 

Such a life is often filled with an aching regret. The 
hardly tasked body yearns for a fuller freedom — the 



S6 THE PRIME MINISTER 

freedom to follow, undisturbed, the clear call of the 
mind. 

It was such a life that he dreamed of for his boys 
when he decided to send them, at all costs, into one of 
those learned professions which Britons hold in so 
much honour. His eager aim was to free them, at 
any sacrifice, from the great burden of manual drudg- 
ery. 

That being decided, It was not so easy to make a 
choice between the professions. Richard Lloyd was 
not one of those men who think It a sign of strength to 
force children into careers against their own will. 
Above all, he wished to have the following wind of 
their free consent and help. 

The "ministry" was practically closed to them by 
that rule of their uncle's Church which forbade Chris- 
tian service as a means of livelihood. The Established 
Church, Indeed, was an open road for them; there 
"Welcome !" was written over the door for every clever 
Welsh village boy. If David had consented to follow 
the lead of some of his village friends, who can say 
that he might not have ended as an Archbishop? The 
thought never took serious shape at Highgate Cottage. 
I scarcely dare to think of what would have been said 
in the village "smithy" or the uncle's workshop if David 
had turned his steps towards that primrose path — as 
both he and his brother were more than once invited 
to do. 

Richard Lloyd's own desire was that David should 
be a doctor. But the lad had an Instinctive, physical 
shrinking from disease and death. Richard Lloyd, be- 
ing a wise man, sorrowfully agreed that David's tem- 



SCHOOL DAYS 37 

perament was unfitted for the hospital ward and the 
sick-room. 

His mother, Mrs. William George, pondering the 
future in her heart, and watching the boy with a fond 
mother's eyes, desired him to be a lawyer. 

The mother won. 

In those old days when Mrs. William George was 
in the depths of sorrow and distress, through the long 
agony of her husband's illness, she had received much 
help and kindness from an old friend of her husband's, 
one of those tender-hearted family lawyers who are the 
crown and salvation of their profession — Mr. Thomas 
Goffey of Liverpool. The boys had heard much of 
this man at an impressionable age; and the effect left 
on David was a great desire to go and do likewise. "To 
be a lawyer like Mr. Goffey!" That was the shining 
quest before him. 

At this critical moment the memory of this helper 
acted as a magnet to them all; and it was this lode- 
stone that drew on first David, and then his brother 
WiUiam. 

In such pleasant guise did that useful calling present 
itself; in such Christian fashion came to the youth this 
summons. The lawyer's gown appeared to him as the 
robe of the Samaritan. 

So far, so good. But the career of the law requires 
a long apprenticeship; and apprenticeship means 
money. The examination fees alone for a solicitor 
amount to a good sum, and there was a substantial 
premium on apprenticeship to a good firm to be paid 
in addition. Then there would be over five years 
without earnings. Where would they obtain the re- 
sources to face the strain ? 



38 THE PRIME MINISTER 

At this point Richard Lloyd turned to the pooled 
family savings of himself and his sister, Mrs. William 
George, and dipped deep. Little was left when suf- 
ficient for this purpose had been drawn, and even so 
the supply was precariously meagre. Could they find 
enough to start the two boys on their careers? 

Tf was clear, on a survey, that they could not send 
the boys either to a higher school or to a University. 
How, then, were they to acquire that considerable store 
of general knowledge required of the legal appren- 
tice? 

David had done well under Evans's faithful tuition. 
He had advanced into the higher mathematics; he had 
read a certain amount of history; he had now mastered 
the elements of French and Latin. 

But much more was required if he was to pass that 
first obstruction in the great obstacle race set before the 
novice in the law — the Preliminary Examination. He 
must, for instance, know more French. He must read 
Csesar and Sallust. The village dominie could not carry 
David as far as that. 

Here seemed a formidable gulf to bridge. Less 
formidable barriers have closed careers to others and 
driven them back into the workshop. 

But human love can leap over great obstacles; and 
Richard Lloyd was no ordinary man. He knew neither 
French nor Latin. Very well, he would set out to learn 
them. 

So together the uncle and the nephew started Into 
the unexplored. Hand In hand, they tackled the Latin 
and the French grammars, and thumbed the diction- 
aries. For this great-hearted man knew that if both 
be ignorant of the way it is better to go together. 



SCHOOL DAYS 39 

Company gives courage. So in the dark winter even- 
ings, with the light of a candle, they together spelt out 
the sentences of Cssar and Sallust and laboriously read 
iEsop in French. I will warrant that those lessons in 
Latin and French were not wasted. I even doubt some- 
times whether the class-rooms of Eton or Harrow, with 
their picked teachers, can show anything so inspiring as 
this little village study — ^the uncle and nephew strug- 
gling along that unknown path, lit only by zeal and af- 
fection. May it not be, perhaps, that the accident of 
this laborious schooling gave a special nourishment to 
the boy's instinct of self-confidence, proved more po- 
tent than the spoon-feeding of some well-endowed col- 
lege? 

At any rate, this common struggle for knowledge 
gave the uncle a new insight into his nephew's powers. 
From this time onward the boy became his very spe- 
cial "Di" — the darling of his heart — ^the apple of his 
eye. He began to perceive that there were few things 
impossible for this boy to achieve. 

At last this astonishing experiment in coaching came 
to an end. But his uncle was determined to stand by 
the nephew to the end in the first great trial of his 
life. 

In December, 1877, he accompanied him to Liver- 
pool, where the examination was to take place. Every 
morning — as he often told in later life — Richard Lloyd 
accompanied the youth to the examination room in St. 
George's Hall ; and every evening, after the day's work, 
he met him on the steps of the hall and went home with 
him. 

The examination lasted a week. Suspense was fol- 
lowed by triumph. David passed. 



40 THE PRIME MINISTER 

The young hopeful who had set out from Llanystum- 
dwy with the good wishes and fervent prayers of 
friends and neighbours, returned on December 8th with 
the first flush of achievement on his cheek. 

Nowhere was there a happier Christmas in that 
year of 1877 than at "Highgate." 

There was only one man as happy as the uncle 
and the mother — and that was the village schoolmas- 
ter. It was a proud day when he could solemnly record 
the fact of David's passing in the Log Book of the 
Llanystumdwy National School. 



CHAPTER III 

YOUTH 

"Who, with a natural instinct to discern 
What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn;'* 

Wordsworth's The Happy Warrior. 

PoRTMADOC is a little provincial business town lying 
on the coast some five miles to the west of Criccieth in 
the very heart of Cardigan Bay. It stands at the 
mouth of the Glaslyn, one of those little mountain 
rivers which flow southward through wild valleys from 
the Snowdon range. The river broadens to a port 
at its mouth and the town spreads on both banks. A 
hundred years ago the land here was below high-water 
mark. It was redeemed by an enterprising man who 
has given his name to the town and the estate.^ The 
old high-water mark can be seen far up the valley, 
and it is an actual fact that every building in Portmadoc 
itself stands on land snatched from the sea. 

Here in Portmadoc, just east of the Town Hall, 
stood the office of Messrs. Breese, Jones, and Casson, 
the firm to which David Lloyd George was articled 
after he had passed his Preliminary Law Examination. 
There the square-built, airy chambers still stand. 
Here, in this building, young David Lloyd George, 
aged sixteen, took his seat at the window on one of 

* Mr. A. Maddocks. One of the men who was interested in this pro- 
ject was the poet Shelley. 

41 



42 THE PRIME MINISTER 

those high stools where the clerks of to-day still sit; and 
doubtless the young David's eyes sometimes glanced 
anxiously at the same old clock that still measures out 
the limits of work and play. The preliminaries of this 
articling took some time; but within six months — at 
the opening of 1879 — David had been fully articled 
by his uncle as clerk to Mr. Casson, the junior partner. 

Portmadoc itself stands in prim straight rows of 
slate-roofed houses built at right-angles to the long 
main street. The great thing about the town is that 
from every corner of its streets you can see the mighty 
mountains of Snowdon on the horizon. It was still 
under those Eagle Rocks that David's life-work was 
to be carried on for the next few years. 

It was no longer possible for him to live in the little 
cottage at Llanystumdwy, which was over seven miles 
from Portmadoc and two miles from Criccieth railway- 
station. 

So it was arranged that the lad should spend the 
week at Portmadoc and go back to his uncle's home 
at week-ends. 

During the week he lodged with some good people 
whose children had gone out into the world ^ and who 
looked after him for several years as if he had been 
their own child. Like many another young Welsh- 
man he was also taken into the kindly fraternity of 
the chapel folk, who looked after him on behalf of 
his uncle. He soon began to find friends. On Wednes- 
days he would attend the little chapel; and he was 
especially fond of frequenting the little candle-making 
workshop behind the main street, where the workmen 

^Mr. and Mrs. D. Lloyd Owen, Auctioneer, High Street, Port- 
madoc. 



YOUTH 43 

can still be seen ingeniously contriving the special 
illuminant candles for the slate quarries of North 
Wales. There, as in the smithy at Llanystumdwy, he 
found much congenial company for discussion and 
debate ; for it was a significant fact that in youth David 
Lloyd George was always drawn to the places where 
men assemble and discuss their affairs. 

^ Here was a youth at the age of sixteen taken out of 
his village and thrown into the larger turmoil of the 
world's affairs. The sohcitors' firm to which he was 
articled was an important legal centre in Carnarvon- 
shire. The solicitors were Clerks to the Petty Ses- 
sional Division, and Mr. Breese was also Clerk to 
the Lieutenant of the County, besides being the Liberal 
agent for Merionethshire. Finding that the youth was 
handy and smart, they soon began to use him as deputy 
in their various functions. So David found himself 
immersed into all the affairs of a great county, besides 
being in constant touch with the stirring life of a little 
port. The ships and sailors were ever coming and 
going, and all the murmur of larger interests flowed 
in from outside. There, in that little corner of Wales, 
they could constantly hear "the great wave which 
echoes round the world." 

From the vantage-post of his firm the boy could 
gradually gain an insight into the whole machinery of 
county administration. 

In law, as in journalism, provincial experience is a 
far better school for a young man than that of Lon- 
don; for in the provinces work is less specialised, and 
the young clerk in a busy lawyer's office has a chance 
of such varied work as his powers show him capable of. 
David Lloyd George, for instance, now found himself 



44 THE PRIME MINISTER 

often called upon to undertake responsible tasks; to 
watch the interests of his firm in the Police Court or 
in the Quarter Session; to collect rates and taxes; 
to find his way through that complicated network of 
wire entanglements which British wisdom had thrown 
around the exercise of the suffrage. The canvassing 
work which he did for his firm in their capacity as 
Liberal agents stood him in very good stead later on 
which he had to do the same work for himself. It 
was during this period that he acquired, too, that 
intimate mastery of the details of rural rating with 
which he afterwards astonished the House of Com- 
mons. During the same years he achieved an insight 
into the surprising affairs of many county families. 
There is no surer way of finding out the secrets of the 
English land system than' to look at them through the 
peep-holes of a good lawyer's office. 

No doubt the young Lloyd George lost much by 
being plunged so early in life into the urgencies of prac- 
tical work. But he also gained. For it would have 
been difficult to devise a training more suitable for a 
coming statesman. 

For a time the young man was absorbed by his new 
work; and, indeed, it was enough to take up his energy. 
David Lloyd George was from the beginning a keen 
lawyer. He was not content with practical experience ; 
he read hard at the law; but in his case law did not 
take form in his mind as a fixed dead thing, but as a 
vital function of growth, with possibilities of perpetual 
change and reform. 

Thus his apprenticeship began to feed and stimulate 
his instinctive interest in public affairs. His daily ex- 
perience led him back at every turn into larger public 



YOUTH 46 

interests and speculations. He had his week evenings 
free ; and so gradually among the young men of Port- 
madoc he was led into that life of debate which has 
always been his very life-blood. 

In 1880 his uncle, his mother, his brother, and his 
sister gave up the little cottage at Llanystumdwy and 
moved to "Morvin House" in Criccieth. Richard 
Lloyd and Mrs. Wilham George, their mother, had 
now saved enough to enable Uncle Lloyd to give up 
the bootmaking; and his interest was now so much 
centred round David that he decided to make a move 
that would enable the youth to live at home. The 
little house where David was to live for the next 
ten years was just beneath the walls of that shattered 
Norman castle which crowns a precipitous cliff on the 
very edge of the sea. Now battered and worn by the 
assaults of man and the ravages of the ocean, that 
castle was once a strong link in that scheme of block- 
house fortresses which the Normans built to keep down 
North Wales. The ruins typify to-day the valour of 
this land of bards, and prove the power of a little 
nation over a mighty conqueror. At its strongest, the 
rule of the Normans extended very few feet beyond 
those castle walls. Now this fortress is in ruins; and 
all around the very portals of that ancient blockhouse 
you will hear few words of any language except the 
very tongue which the Normans tried to ban and to 
bar.i 

* After writing this I came across the following passage in a speech 
of Mr. Lloyd George's made in the House of Commons: "Two 'thou- 
sand yearrs ago the great Empire of Rome came with its battalions 
and conquered that part of Carnarvonshire in which my constituency 
is situated. They built walls and fortifications as the tokens of their 
conquest, and they proscribed the use of the Cymric tongue. The other 
day I was glancing at the ruins of those walls. Underneath I noted' 



46 THE PREME MINISTER 

To this house David Lloyd George now came home 
every evening and he was able to give up his kindly 
lodgings in Portmadoc. This return to the strongest 
influence in his youth perhaps explains a certain deep- 
ening of purpose w^hich now becomes visible in his 
diaries ^; but there emerges also a new independence of 
spirit. Somewhat to the alarm of the uncle, the youth 
was beginning to exhibit a rambling interest that went 
far outside that still lagoon of puritanism which was 
the home of that high, simple spirit. There was 
already a touch of that defiant self-confidence which 
has so often since puzzled and troubled both the fol- 
lowers and the counsellors of Mr. Lloyd George. The 
young man was reading widely and daringly — not 
merely sermons, but plays, histories, and novels. He 
was going through crises of spiritual doubt unknown 
to the securely anchored soul of his foster-father. He 
was catching the malady of his age, and finding its 
remedy, as so many others of that time found it, in 
the vague anodyne of books like Carlyle's Sartor 
Res art us. 

His growing spirit was finding outlets in every di- 
rection. He was attending political meetings and lis- 
tening eagerly and critically to such gospel as his 
elders preached. He had begun writing regularly for 
the newspapers; and over the challenging name of 
"Brutus," the North Wales Express was producing a 

the children at play, and I could hear them speaking, with undimin- 
ished force and vigour, the proscribed language of the conquered 
nation. Close by, there was a school where the language of the 
Roman conquerors was being taught, but taught as a dead language." 
' These diaries are very fully published in Herbert Du Parcq's ex- 
cellent Life of David Lloyd George, London ; Caxton Publishing Com- 
pany Limited, 1912. 



YOUTH m 

series of articles,^ vigorous and combative — a little 
young and flamboyant, but always arresting and stimu- 
lating to the audience of young Wales. 

Already in the 1880 Election those articles, written 
by a boy not yet 18 years of age, played no insignificant 
part in North Wales: and now the people of Carnar- 
vonshire were beginning to ask of the young David, as 
in the old days another people asked of a greater proph- 
et — "Who art thou? What sayest thou of thyself?" 

To these questions the daring youth soon began 
to give an answer with both speech and action. In 
1 88 1, the third year of his apprenticeship, he was 
elected a member of one of those little centres of 
intellectual energy which were growing up all over 
Wales in the dawn of this new time. The Portmadoc 
Debating Society may have meant little to the world; 
but it meant a great deal to itself and to the town 
of Portmadoc. This little assembly met weekly in a 
room over a shop in the Portmadoc High Street. 
There came together an eager throng of young Welsh- 
men determined to discuss for themselves all the prob- 
lems of the day. Their debates covered every great 
question of the eighties. David Lloyd George, now 
eighteen years of age, did not Intend to be a silent 
member. He soon began to speak often. He took 
part in debates on all the great problems that occupied 
his later life — Franchise and Free Trade, Trade 
Unionism and Irish Land, even the Channel Tunnel. 
On all these subjects he expressed bold and progressive 
opinions, and in this little school he began to train his 
power of speech. 

*A large selection of these articles can be read in the pages of 
Mr. Du Parcq. 



48 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Such a passion for debate Is a common disease of 
youth, and often passes like a fitful fever. But with 
the young Lloyd George It was not to be so. It was 
soon clear that the power of speech was with him a 
very special gift, and he threw into It a great deal of 
care and Industry. Men at Portmadoc will still de- 
scribe how he could be seen walking along the high- 
road gesticulating as he practised his speeches; and 
there is no doubt that at this moment of his life he 
already had some dim perception that he possessed the 
magic gift of oratory. 

There are those In Portmadoc to-day who can still 
remember some of these youthful orations, and espe- 
cially remember the wonderful speech which he made 
In 1 88 1 on the Egyptian crisis of that year. At that 
moment conflicting opinions swirled round the figure of 
Arabi Pasha — ^^the Egyptian Nationalist leader. Was 
he a hero or a villain? History has not even yet quite 
decided.^ But the young Lloyd George was in no 
doubt. He saw in Arabi a hero of romance rightly 
struggling for the freedom of a small nation. The 
Impassioned speech in which he defended Arabi gained 
for him the first attentions of the Welsh press. It 
revealed to his hearers that deep enthusiasm for free- 
dom among the little nations which afterwards became 
his leading public characteristic. Men who heard the 
speech still speak of It as a remarkable event In Port- 
madoc. 

At that time young Lloyd George was slim of body 
and pale of face; the portraits that exist possess none 
of that twinkling gaiety which came to him In later 

' Lord Cromer always called him an adventurer. Mr. Wilfrid 
Blunt has always regarded him as a great patriot. 




"uncle LLOTD"; me. HICHAKD LLOYD, THE UNCLE 
or DAVID LLOYD GEOBGE, 



YOUTH 49 

years. Youth with him, as with many, seemed to be 
the gravest period of his life; and indeed it happened 
that very heavy tasks were laid upon these young 
Welshmen at the opening of their lives. 

For these were perilous years in Wales. The power 
of the old order had been shaken, but not shattered. 
The constituencies indeed could no longer be divided 
up by the squires at a private meeting in Carnarvon; 
it was not quite so easy now to woo a seat through a 
Welsh interpreter. The General Election of 1868 
had revealed the power of the new order; but the day 
of Welsh Nationalism was still to come. The older 
men stood aloof; there was much of the old cringing 
humility still left in the social life. The squires had 
punished the Welsh farmers of Carnarvonshire for 
their votes in 1868 by ruthless, widespread evictions, 
and a certain fear had been spread through the county. 
It was clear to the young Lloyd George that this fear 
could only be destroyed by a new dose of daring and 
defiance. Thus beneath the shadow of Snowdon the 
new spirit of young Wales was working up to a storm. 

It is not to be wondered at if his debating achieve- 
ments caused in the mind of this eager young man 
certain stirrings of ambition that began to belie the 
opinion of his old schoolmates. In November, 1 881, he 
visited London for the first time : and, like most young 
men with kindly London friends, he was taken to see 
the House of Commons. At this time he was keeping 
a fairly full diary; and the entry of this date (Novem- 
ber 1 2th) is rather remarkable in view of subsequent 
events : 

"I will not say but that I eyed the assembly in 
a spirit similar to that in which William the Con- 



60 THE PRIME MINISTER 

queror eyed England on his visit to Edward the 
Confessor, as the region of his future domain. 
Oh, vanity!" 

Perhaps it is scarcely fair to intrude on such self- 
communings of early aspiring adolescence — easily for- 
givable for their naive boyish pride. But in the same 
diaries, a year or two later, this young articled clerk 
jots down another reflection rather strangely prophetic 
of what was to come. A quotation appeared in the 
Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald which signified that 
David Lloyd George was already in the public eye: 

"When first the college rolls receive his name, 
The young enthusiast quits his ease for fame, 
Resistless burns the fever of renovi^n, 
Caught from the strong contagion of the gown." ^ 

Young Lloyd George makes a curiously level-headed 
comment on this reference to his thirst for renown : 

"Perhaps (?) it will be gratified. I beheve 
it depends entirely on what forces of pluck and 
industry I can muster." 

Strangely sober reflection for the eighteenth year! 

The desire for fame — that "last infirmity of noble 
minds" — was already there. But it had not turned 
the head of the young man. Already he seemed to 
have some measure of the task before him, and of 
the effort that would be required to achieve it. 

*From Dr. Johnson's "Vanity of Human Wishes" (135-138), an 
early poem, based on Juvenal's Tenth Satire. The third and fourth 
lines should run — 

"Thro' all his veins the fever of renown 
Burns from the strong contagion of the gown." 

The poem was popular with such different judges as Sir Walter Scott, 
Byron, Cardinal Newman, and Matthew Arnold. 



CHAPTER IV 

EARLY MANHOOD 

"Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise 
(That last infirmity of Noble Mind) 
To scorn delights, and live laborious days " 

Milton's Lyctdas. 

During these years of the early eighties (1880-4) 
that great Government of Mr. Gladstone's which 
opened so triumphantly in 1880 was rapidly drawing 
towards its downfall. Checked in Ireland and stagnant 
at home, the Whigs who dominated the Cabinet had 
been gradually drawn abroad into enterprises for which 
they lacked both heart and capacity, Mr. Gladstone 
was losing the middle class, and not winning the 
manual workers. Meanwhile that astonishing young 
man from Birmingham, Mr, Joseph Chamberlain, had 
swiftly perceived the decline of the old Liberalism, and 
was building up a new and daring programme of social 
and political reform. He was speaking with a new 
voice. He was uttering his mind in simple language, 
and calling things by very plain names. 

The heart of the young Lloyd George went out to 
this newcomer with a frank enthusiasm. It is quite 
clear from his diaries and newspaper-writings during 
these years that he was at the beginning a vehement 
supporter of Mr, Chamberlain. 

In an article on Mr. Chamberlain written by David 
Lloyd George for the North Wales Observer of Octo- 

51 



52 THE PRIME MINISTER 

ber 17th, 1884, there is a remarkable passage which 
is worth while recalling to-day as a flashing revelation 
of the mind of the young writer: 

"Mr. Chamberlain is unquestioningly the future 
leader of the people. Any one who reads his 
speeches will know the reason why. . . . He 
understands the sympathies of his countrymen. It 
is therefore that he speaks intelligibly and 
straightforwardly, like a man who is proud of the 
opinions which he holds. He is a Radical, and 
doesn't care who knows it as long as the people 
do." 

So strongly was he attracted by Mr. Chamberlain's 
personality that the young Lloyd George was always 
inclined to take his side. He supported him, for in- 
stance, in that struggle with the Whigs over his Radi- 
cal Programme which, by the strangest possible twist, 
led later on to that great misunderstanding over the 
tactics of Home Rule and ended in splitting the old 
Liberal party. Mr. Lloyd George had perhaps some 
temperamental sympathy with that spirit of impatience 
which made Mr. Chamberlain resent so deeply the 
snubs and checks he received at the hands of the Whigs. 

Although a fervent Nationalist and Home Ruler, 
Mr. Lloyd George was always inclined to sympathise 
with Mr. Chamberlain's methods of approaching the 
Home Rule problem. Looking at it from the view- 
point of Wales, he liked Mr. Chamberlain's feeling 
for federalism. It Is a curious fact that if Mr. Lloyd 
George had stood for Parliament in 1886, he would 
probably have been drawn by his sympathy for Mr. 



EARLY MANHOOD 53 

Chamberlain into the ranks of that small section of 
Radical Unionists who followed Mr. Chamberlain in 
his opposition to Gladstonian Home Rule, but after- 
wards, recoiling from open reaction, rejoined the 
Liberal party — men like Sir George Trevelyan and 
Mr. W. S. Calne, a small, afflicted, but deeply inter- 
esting group. 

In 1884 David Lloyd George went up to London to 
pass his Final Law Examination in order to enable 
him to be admitted on to the roll of practising solicitors. 
His comment in his diary on the admission ceremony 
shows his growing freshness and Independence of out- 
look. He was not at all cheered by that atmosphere of 
dusty dullness which envelops the ritual of our law: 

"The ceremony disappointed me. The Master 
of the Rolls, so far from having anything to do 
with it, was actually listening to some Q.C. at 
the time, and some fellow of a clerk swore us to 
a lawyerly demeanour at the back of the court, 
and ofF we shambled to the Petty Bag Office to 
sign the Rolls." 

On the occasion of this visit to London, he again 
attended the House of Commons, and for the first 
time listened to a debate. He was fortunate enough 
to be present at a lively skirmish between Lord Ran- 
dolph Churchill and Mr. Gladstone. *'It was a clever 
piece of comedy," he said some years afterwards, re- 
calling the scene. "I thought Churchill an impudent 
puppy, as every Liberal was bound to do — but I thor- 
oughly enjoyed his speech." Then, as now, he could 



54 THE PRIME MINISTER 

never sufficiently express his admiration for courage 
In any field of life and on any side. 

He could now (1884) leave the high desk In the 
square room at the office by the Town Hall. He had 
served during the past five years (i 879-1 884) a faith- 
ful apprenticeship. He had allowed few diversions to 
draw him from his work. In those days the Puritan 
tradition of a little Welsh township held the young 
people In a fairly tight grip, and there were few 
light distractions. Portmadoc held no theatre or opera 
within Its boundaries. The "Moving Pictures" had 
not yet taken Puritanism on the flank. Football was 
beginning to seize the Celtic fancy; but David had little 
taste or time for violent sports. In 1882 he became 
a Volunteer, and went into camp at Conway. But It 
Is not recorded that he secured any promotion, or at 
any time suffered from the pangs of military ambition. 
Otherwise his amusements took that sober form of the 
Portmadoc debating society speeches, or essays for the 
Eisteddfod, for which the two brothers wrote a dis- 
course on the "Cash and Credit System." They spoke 
of credit with a scorn unhappily rare In young men ! 

He was no longer any master's man. He could. 
If he liked, set up for himself. The firm for which 
he had worked all these years had, Indeed, a high 
opinion of his powers ; and they did not wish to lose him 
wholly. Mr. Breese, the head-partner, "a kind master 
and a thorough man," as David described him In his 
diary, had died In 1881; but the other partners did 
their best to give him a start. They secured him an 
offer of a managing clerkship In an old county firm 
at Dolgelly. It would have been a most attractive 
opening for a man who wished to follow the safe course 



EARLY MANHOOD 55 

in life. But David Lloyd George was one who pre- 
ferred risks. He wished to be the ruler of his own fate. 

He had now practically no one behind him. The 
long period of examination and apprenticeship had 
exhausted the slender stores of his mother and his 
uncle. He had even to wait for his first cases before he 
could purchase the robes required of a Welsh solicitor 
before he could plead in the County Court. 

But he still preferred a small independence to a big 
dependence. Perhaps he was right. Probably he 
had ideas as to the way of conducting a legal business 
which would not have always gratified any old-fash- 
ioned firm of country solicitors. 

The young solicitor started quite simply by putting 
a brass name-plate on the door of Morvin House, their 
Irttle dweUing at Criccieth. He then began to practise 
in his uncle's back parlour. 

Ft was a daring venture for an unknown village 
youth; but after a few months he began to get under 
way. His diaries of 1885 punctuate with thrilling 
eagerness the opening steps in his professional career — 
his first case in the Police Court, his first service of 
an order, his first plea in the County Court. On June 
24th he records with glee that he won all his cases. 
"Never had a more successful field-day." On July 
9th he is attending Penrhyn Sessions for the first 
time, opposing the transfer of a license. On Sep- 
tember 8th he is in the Revision Courts. "Came off 
better than Liberals ever did." In fact, he marches 
in these first skirmishes from victory to victory. 

So successful was he, in fact, that in this year (1885) 
he opened an office in the High Street at Portmadoc, 
not far from the building in which he had been ar- 



66 THE PRIME MINISTER 

tided. He began In a very small house, and remained 
there for some years before moving to the corner 
house where the legend "Messrs. Lloyd George and 
George" is still prominent in the window. This cor- 
ner house was previously a public-house known as "The 
Fox Inn." There the brothers — for now William had 
joined David in practice — took the end of the lease, 
and finally secured the freehold. There, in that dis- 
possessed hostelry, William George practises to-day 
(1920). 

This year and the years that followed in David's 
life were crammed with intense activities. The diaries 
show that day after day he rose between five and six 
o'clock. He devoted the cream of his energies to the 
active pursuit of the law. But he could never be a 
man of one interest. He was also, during these same 
months, fiercely energetic both in religion and politics. 
He was constantly reading sermons and listening to 
sermons. He often spoke from the pulpit, after that 
liberal fashion encouraged In the Free Churches. 

But gradually In these diaries the political Interest 
begins to loom larger. When the autumn General 
Election of 1885 comes on, he takes an active part with 
pen and voice. On October 17th he goes to the Tory 
member's meeting, and Is with difficulty restrained from 
taking part. On November i8th he makes an impas- 
sioned speech in defence of Mr. Chamberlain, and Is 
tremendously cheered. On November 24th he goes to 
a Tory meeting and finds that he is the chief butt of 
their attack. He shows his precocious political shrewd- 
ness by the satisfaction he feels In thus drawing the 
enemy's fire. 

Instead of injuring the practice of his profession by 



EARLY MANHOOD 57 

these public displays of courage, he soon found that 
he was really attracting to his house and office a 
new class of client, the discontented farmers of the 
county. First one and then another began coming to 
him, at first privily and then confidently. They came 
on tithes, and on rents, and on rates. He took up some 
of these cases and scored successes which resounded 
through the county. The result was that other men 
came who had never before been to lawyers, and he 
began to open up a new vein of business. Law, after 
all, can sometimes pay, even as a remedy for Injustice. 

He was. Indeed, now becoming a very busy sohcltor 
of the kind which In the provinces Is not easily dis- 
tinguished from a barrister. The fact that a solicitor 
can address a County Court and a Petty Sessional 
Court gives him, outside the great centres of English 
life, a practical command of both branches of the law 
and abohshes that rather absurd pedantry of divided 
function. This power of speech suited young Lloyd 
George very well. It gave him a new training in public 
address, and It provided him with a new weapon for 
asserting public rights. From the time of that great 
nation of lawyers — the Romans — the Law Court has 
always been second only to the Senate House as an 
Instrument of popular power. Mr. Lloyd George 
showed to the Welsh people that, in "the Integrity of the 
British law, they had a new resource for the recovery 
of their ancient rights. 

But never at any time did he allow the call of the 
law to divert him from politics. Day by day his 
diaries reflect his passionate Interest In the struggle 
of 1885. When the first results come in he is pro- 
foundly disappointed. "There is no cry for the towns," 



58 THE PRIME MINISTER 

he writes on November 26th. "Humdrum Liberalism 
won't win elections." Then, on December 4th: 

"Great Liberal victories in counties. Very glad 
of it. Am convinced that this is all due to Cham- 
berlain's speeches. Gladstone had no programme 
that would draw at all." 

Throughout we can see his ardour for the forward 
course and the vigour In attack. "Humdrum Liberal- 
ism won't win elections" — ^that was to be the gist of 
his political teaching in later years : it almost summed 
up his political strategy. 

Certainly young Lloyd George was not himself in- 
clined to be "humdrum." Just at this moment, when 
the old and the new Liberalism in Wales, as In Eng- 
land, were wrestling for the mastery, he definitely took 
the forward side. It was significant of this that he 
first came out as a notable public speaker in a sphere 
beyond his own district at a great public meeting held 
at Festlnlog on February 12th, 1886, and addressed 
by the famous Irishman, Michael Davltt. 

The Liberal Party was not at that moment fully 
committed to Home Rule, and among the elder men 
there had been grave head-shakings over this invita- 
tion to Michael Davltt. Rebellion was more seriously 
regarded In those days; and Michael Davltt had both 
rebelled and paid the penalty. The law had laid its 
finger on him and marked him with Its broad arrow; 
and respectable people whispered the word "felon." 

Young Lloyd George was Invited to the Davltt 
meeting. There were grave doubts In the family circle 
as to whether he ought to go. But he was urged on 



EARLY MANHOOD 59 

by one who had already a great and growing Influence 
over him, a certain Maggie Owen hving at a farm- 
house about a mile from Criccieth and more and more 
mentioned in the diaries of this time. This young 
lady already had her definite views, and she had no 
patience with this attempt to make a pariah of Michael 
Davitt. "Of course you must go," she said simply; 
"why not?" And that seemed to settle the matter. 

The difficulty was to persuade any one to move 
a vote of thanks to Michael Davitt at this meeting; 
all the prudent people stood aside. But there sat In 
a chair a brave and stalwart man — Mr. Michael Jones 
of Bala — and at the last moment he persuaded young 
Lloyd George to move the vote of thanks. The young 
David rose, and he instantly made a speech which was 
largely reported and which electrified North Wales. 
In this speech there are already some of those daring, 
flashing phrases with which he afterwards famllarlsed 
the world. There was already that fearless touch 
which has since made the speaker a perpetual storm- 
centre. 

Michael Davitt, always a shrewd judge of men, 
was deeply Impressed with the speech. He advised Mr. 
Lloyd George to think of Parliament, and the other 
Michael — Jones of Bala — urged the same advice. 
From that time forward the young man's thoughts 
began to turn towards Westminster. 

And yet his first approach to Parliament was not 
easy. Some of the young enthusiasts who now gath- 
ered round him wanted him to stand for Merioneth- 
shire In the General Election that soon followed In 
1886. But here there was another son of young Wales 
already in the field with stronger local claims. This 



60 THE PRIME MINISTER 

was none other than the man always known afterwards 
as "Tom" Ellis, son of a Merionethshire farmer. Ellis 
was four years older than Lloyd George ; and young 
David readily and instantly stood aside in favour of 
the elder man. They met soon after; and a great 
friendship struck up between them which lasted until 
the premature death of Tom Ellis in 1899. ^^ was a 
wonderful friendship between two men of common 
aspirations but utterly different character. Tom Ellis 
was by no means the "Welsh Parnell" — no descrip- 
tion could have been further from the truth. He was 
a man of high enthusiasms and noble integrity. He 
was a real Welsh Nationalist. But, by going to Ox- 
ford, he had come within the governing English circle; 
he was touched with that Saxonism which tempers the 
native zeal of the Celt. He was no longer "racy of 
the soil." It was no mere chance that he was after- 
wards drawn before his due season into the circle of 
British power, and was fated to stand aloof from his 
friend when Lloyd George was asserting the rugged 
and relentless claims of Welsh Nationalism. 

Thus David Lloyd George was for the moment de- 
layed in his progress to Parliament. Perhaps this 
was a fortunate accident, because it gave him a breath- 
ing time in which to master the needs of his own 
people and to train himself more thoroughly for the 
public stage. 



CHAPTER V 

MARRIAGE 

"A Daniel come to judgment! Yea, a Daniel! 
O wise young judge, how I do honour thee!" 

Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Act I, Sc. iv. 

Cut off from Parliament for the moment (1886) 
David Lloyd George spent no time in vain regrets. 
He resumed that hfe of combined public and private 
activity which was rapidly becoming his second nature. 
His diaries during the following years show that he 
was now absorbed in his growing "practice." But 
that did not prevent him from continuing his eager and 
active Interest In public affairs. Then, as ever after, 
the two interests developed together. 

From this time forward he steadily directed his 
energies to work on behalf of his own beloved little 
nation. Perhaps never did he quite lose sight of that 
high ambition to command "listening senates" which 
had come to him when he first sat In the Gallery at 
Westminster and looked down on the combats of the 
great parliamentary gladiators. But for the moment 
there was urgent work to do nearer to hand; and 
David Lloyd George knew the wisdom of Carlyle's 
great law of conduct — "Do the Duty that lies nearest 
thee." 1 

So he plunged into the great work for Wales which 
was already on foot at his own doors. 

^Sartor Resartus, Book II., chapter ix. 
61 



62 THE PRIME MINISTER 

In 1886 he joined eagerly in the great Antitithe cam- 
paign which was being carrie.d on throughout North 
Wales by those remarkable men, Mr. Thomas Gee 
and Mr. John Parry. David Lloyd George became the 
Secretary of that League in South Carnarvonshire, and 
he addressed meetings throughout the district. He 
accompanied Mr. Gee and Mr. Parry on many of their 
most daring raids. He drove long distances in a small 
governess cart and addressed meetings in little villages 
away in remote districts. 

It was characteristic of David that he actually pro- 
voked and promoted hostihty. He would hold his 
meetings by preference in the neighbourhood of the 
Parish Church or of the National School. He would 
regard it as his greatest triumph if he could draw the 
parson or the curate to come out and meet him in open 
warfare. One of the visions of him at this period 
handed down is that of a day in June 1887, when he 
was seen coatless and in his shirt-sleeves arguing 
against the curate in the open green at the village fair 
of Sarn Melltcyrn. He did not shrink from passive 
sympathy with the mild rioting which began to take 
place at the tithe sales resulting from the distraints 
that followed. His whole heart went out in sympathy 
to Welsh farmers compelled by law to contribute from 
their pocket to what they regarded as an alien Church. 

The "Tithe War" gave David Lloyd George that 
best of training for a young public speaker — the train- 
ing of public controversy in the open air. It made him 
quick and resourceful. Here was the best possible 
whetstone for his natural gift of courage. These 
speeches made him already a rising public champion. 

This was a new portent for the Welsh farmer — a 



MARRIAGE 63 

lawyer who was not in league with the richo It flashed 
as a shining light on the eyes of a people who had 
always been used to regard the law as the paid servant 
of power and property. It brought more of those 
farmers flocking to his ofiice : and once more it brought 
him forward as the legal friend of the poor and the 
oppressed — "the poor man's lawyer" of Carnarvon- 
shire. 

The people gradually learned that here was a man 
skilled in the law who was ready on their behalf to 
face the tyrants of the Bench and to challenge their 
power. 

In nothing had this power of the Bench been more 
ruthlessly exercised than in the matter of fishing. By 
a curious distortion of public rights, the rivers of this 
country have been mainly turned into private property. 
While fishing on the open sea is as free as the air, 
unlicensed fishing in fresh water in England outside 
navigable waters is often accounted a crime. ^ 

This law of private property in fresh water fishing 
has fallen with peculiar harshness upon a people like 
the Welsh, who inherit a great passion for this par- 
ticular sport. The pressure of the law has been made 
worse by the fact that the prohibition is perpetually 
being extended to waters where a customary right of 
fishing has existed. 

Here has been a cause of perpetual conflict between 
the law and the pubhc — a conflict in which the bias 
of the law has been mainly against the public. 

Such a case occurred in North Wales in May 1889, 
when four quarrymen were prosecuted for fishing in a 

^ In countries like Japan all fishing is free ; and public fishing, of 
course, can be "preserved" as easily as private. 



64 THE PRIME MINISTER 

small mountain quarry lake.^ The aim of the prose- 
cution was to bring the lake within the definition of the 
word "river" in the Act of Parliament. It soon became 
quite clear from the proceedings that the bias of the 
Court was against the quarrymen. Mr. Lloyd George 
rapidly determined to bring this out in the most vivid 
manner possible. So when the chairman — a great 
local potentate and sportsman — gruffly interrupted his 
legal argument by saying that the legal point must be 
tried in a higher Court, Mr, Lloyd George swiftly 
replied : 

"Yes, sir, and in a perfectly just and unbiassed 
Court too." 

The result of this remark was precisely what Mr. 
Lloyd George expected. The chairman rather un- 
wisely asked Mr. Lloyd George to what magistrate he 
was referring. To this the young advocate immedi- 
ately replied: 

"I refer to you In particular, sir." 

Whereupon the chairman Immediately rose with 
great pomp and dignity and left the court. 

The other magistrates now felt that It laid with 
them to take some action. A second magistrate, allied 
to sport, protested. A third, noddlngly acquainted, 
declined to proceed with the case : whereupon Mr. 
Lloyd George calmly remarked, "I am glad to hear It." 
A fourth rose and left the court. One of the few 
left asked Mr. Lloyd George for an apology, where- 
upon he replied: 

"I shall not withdraw anything, because every 
word I have spoken Is true." 

*The lower Nantlle lake. 



MARRIAGE 65 

The result was that all the magistrates left the court, 
and Mr. Lloyd George's purpose was fully achieved. 

Here was an incident by no means the result of 
mere thoughtless impertinence on the part of a young 
lawyer. Mr. Lloyd George has always regarded this 
as one of the proudest incidents of his life. He is still 
of opinion that It came at a critical moment to shake 
the petty tyranny of the local Bench, and he still quotesi 
it as a good example of one of his favourite methods 
of public action. 

A short time afterwards David Lloyd George was 
the chief actor in another famous case which showed 
the people of Wales that the spirit of British justice, 
if boldly challenged, was capable of maintaining their 
cause. This was a case arising from that incredible 
ecclesiastical Inhumanity which consisted in attempting 
to visit Ignominy upon a man of another faith even 
after he had passed through the gates of death. 
Nothing did more to shatter the power of the Estab- 
lished Church of Wales than the refusal of the parsons 
to bury the dead of other sects within the walls of the 
old parish burial-grounds. Those parish "God's 
acres" had been in the possession of the people before 
the Reformation, and it was only by a chance turn of 
English history that they passed away from them. 

The growth of the great Free Churches resulting 
from the immense religious revival of the late 
eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries made this an 
acute matter. The hostility of the Established Church 
to this revival led to a new use of the power of ex- 
clusion from the burial-grounds. Terrible memories 
have centred round that struggle. The late President 
of the English Divorce Court, Sir Samuel Evans, once 



66 THE PRIME MINISTER 

told me that he had to carry by stealth the coffin of his 
first wife Into his parish cemetery before he could ob- 
tain burial for her In Christian ground. The Estab- 
lished Church In Wales has had to pay heavily for 
the luxury of such adherence to a narrow and Inhuman 
practice. 

In 1880 the Welsh members returned to Parliament 
since the Liberal Revival of 1868 had succeeded in 
passing that famous Burial Act which now enables a 
British Nonconformist to be burled In a parish burial- 
ground according to the rites of his own religion as 
long as due notice is given to the parish priest. In 
most of the parishes in Wales this Act was accepted 
by decent parsons as a satisfactory settlement of a 
prolonged dispute. 

But In the little village of Llanfrothen, at the very 
foot of Snowdon, there was a rector whose fanatical 
religious instinct led him to make one last daring effort 
to cheat his parishioners out of their rights of decent 
Christian burial. In 1888, an old quarryman died at 
Llanfrothen. He Jeft it as his last wish that he should 
be buried by the side of his daughter. Now, this 
daughter had been buried in a piece of land which had 
been added to the churchyard as far back as 1864 by a 
certain Mrs. Owen of Dolgelly. The new piece of 
land had been enclosed by a wall built out of their own 
money by the parishioners. This "acre" had been 
recognised up to that time as part of the burial-ground. 
But thie Rev, Richard Jones cared nothing for walls 
and little for precedents. This "churlish priest" raked 
up the old records and found that Mrs. Owen had 
made no legal conveyance of the land. In 1 881, the 
year after the new Burial Act had passed into law, he 



MARRIAGE 67 

persuaded that good lady to make a new conveyance, 
with a trust which confined It to those parishioners who 
used the rites of the Church of England. 

The new grave had actually been dug for the poor 
old quarryman to rest by the side of his daughter. A 
notice under the new Act was served upon the rector. 
Then began the struggle. The rector filled in the 
grave and pointed out another spot for the burial of 
the old quarryman — a spot far from his daughter, 
"bleak and sinister," in the words of Mr. Lloyd George 
— a place reserved for shipwrecked sailors and suicides. 

It was at that moment in the struggle that the 
relatives of the quarryman went to consult young David 
Lloyd George. 

Without any hesitation Mr. Lloyd George advised 
them to act on their rights. Following his daring 
counsel, they entered the graveyard and reopened the 
filled-in grave. Then they made a pathetic appeal to 
the rector. He still forbade them to act. Then they 
made a demand on the rector. He still refused. Mean- 
while young David had spent a night in foraging and 
rummaging through the church records, and he had 
discovered that in 1864 the rector had allowed the 
public to enclose the piece of ground without any condi- 
tions. He advised the relatives to go on. Let them, 
if necessary, break into the churchyard. 

They went on. They broke into the churchyard. 
They borrowed a bier from the church. They gave 
the old man a Christian burial by his daughter. The 
Calvinist minister spoke the service, and the relatives 
went home happier — contented with the feeling that 
they had buried the old man where he had wished 
to lie. 



68 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Infuriated by their defiance, the stubborn rector sued 
the relatives for damages In Portmadoc County Court. 
Mr. Lloyd George took up the defence and asked for 
a jury. The jury decided that his facts were correct. 
The County Court Judge decided against him on the 
point of law. Fortunately for Mr. Lloyd George, 
the Judge made an Incorrect record of the jury's verdict 
and refused to correct It. David Lloyd George ap- 
pealed to the Divisional Court. He was heard by Lord 
Chief Justice Coleridge and Justice Manlsty. In the 
middle of the case Lord Chief Justice Coleridge dis- 
covered the Incorrect record by the County Court 
Judge. Result — fury of the Lord Chief Justice, anger 
of the Court, and, finally, a verdict in favour of the 
quarryman. 

So that poor old quarryman of Llanfrothen was 
after all laid to rest In peace In that little burial-ground 
beneath the mighty precipices of Snowdon; and the 
fame of Mr. Lloyd George spread wider and wider 
throughout North Wales. It was felt that here at 
last the people had a man who had the courage to 
support them in their struggles against the powers in 
high places. 

He now began to act as a popular pleader in cases 
of social injustice before the Petty Courts of the 
Principality. 

It was during this period of dawning thoughts and 
powers that David Lloyd George wooed and won the 
woman who became his wife. The young man was at 
that time a keen-eyed, attractive youth; and the silver 
tongue which he was already using in Court and on the 
platform was also very social in private life. He was 



MARRIAGE 69 

from the beginning a sociable, conservative man. 
Dowered with welded gifts of wit and wisdom, he had 
already the makings of a good talker. Above all, he 
had that gift of sympathy with the views of others 
which is more popular with women than with men. So 
it was that the cottage-born boy of Llanystumdwy, the 
promising son of Morvin House, was a prime favourite 
with the girls of Criccieth — and with one girl In par- 
ticular who lived just outside Criccieth. 

For about a mile inland from the sea, on a hundred- 
acre farm called Mynydd Ednyfed, there lived a farm- 
ing family of old lineage and high standing possessing 
the proud, historic Welsh name of Owen. They claimed 
descent from Owen Glyndwr, and they faced life with 
that simple Homeric pride which lends dignity to 
worthy living. The yeomen farmers of Wales, like 
the "statesmen" of the Cumberland,Dales, inherit the 
pride of landed men; and the Owens were no exception 
to this rule. 

The Owens of Ednyfed had a daughter — Maggie 
by name — whom they loved passing well. She was 
the apple of her father's eye; and no man who sought 
her hand was likely to have an easy time. That, of 
course, was likely to make Maggie not less, but more 
desirable to David Lloyd George. 

Maggie went to chapel at Criccieth, and the young 
people met In that simple but thrilling way — when the 
heart is at its best and highest — as they went to and 
from their little chapels. They did not worship to- 
gether; for the Owens were Methodists. But love has 
leapt higher barriers than that between Baptists and 
Methodists. 

Then there came those entries in the diaries — inno- 



70 THE PRIME MINISTER 

cent, human entries — how David took Maggie home 
from meetings — how, later on, he began to go to the 
farm and talk. Little is said; but we see the old, old 
story developing along its ancient trodden paths. The 
son of the land is going back to the land for his 
wooing. 

Then came those stones in the path without which 
the truth of love never was and never shall be proved. 
It was after 1885 that the young man began to go 
frequently to the farmhouse — solely, of course, to 
obtain sound political advice and counsel from a very 
wise young lady. Fathers have strange illusions, and 
at first Mr. Owen thought that David came to talk to 
him. Many fathers have often thought the same. 

But the day came to Mr. Owen, as it comes to all 
parents, when the veil was torn asunder. It became 
only too obvious that this young man did not toil out 
so often to Ednyfed solely in order to enjoy the society 
of Mr. Owen — or even of Mrs. Owen. 

Then Mr. Owen became less friendly. It is not 
Polonius only who thought himself wiser than youth; 
and in this case Mr. Owen brought Mrs. Owen over 
to his side. 

Ah! If this young David could look forward to the 
secure tenancy of a good solid farmhouse and a rich, 
broad-acred farm, how different it would be! But 
there he was, a struggling limb of the law, scarcely 
emerged from articles, given to outrageous public 
forays, still under his uncle's roof! Farmers rarely 
love lawyers. 

Happily the Owen parents had friends and relations, 
who took a sounder and longer view. Maggie had one 
of those friendly aunts who are the best counsellors of 



MARRIAGE 71 

our youth. That good lady now urged Maggie to stick 
to the young man. "Mark you," she would say, "that 
young man has a great future. Don't give him up." 
Maggie was perhaps like any other young girl, at first 
a little divided and disturbed — distracted between the 
calls of love and filial duty. But in the end she did 
the sound, straight thing — she stuck to her man and 
won. 

Once the victory was established, and bold heart had 
won fair lady, then the parental entrenchments sur- 
rendered. The white flag became the flag of loyalty; 
and Mr. and Mrs. Owen, once won over, became the 
devoted friends and worshippers of their son-in-law up 
to the close of their lives. I saw something of them 
In their home at a later time; and among all those 
humble folk who have helped David Lloyd George to 
achieve, those two wise elders, Mr. and Mrs. Owen, 
held no mean or unworthy place. 

The years flew swiftly, and by 1888 It became clear 
' that Maggie's aunt was the true prophetess, and that 
the young Criccleth solicitor was a coming man. The 
rumour of him was spreading through the county like 
the roar of a "spate" from the hills of Snowdon. What 
was more Important, he was earning an Income. Not 
even the thrifty, careful farmer of Ednyfed could doubt 
any longer. 

So with the opening of that year It was decided that 
the marriage should take place. 

On January 24th, 1888, just after the twenty-fifth 
birthday of the young bridegroom,^ David Lloyd 
George and Maggie Owen were married. The 
wedding took place In a romantic spot, in the little 

*He was born on January 17th, 1863. 



72 THE PRIIVIE MINISTER 

chapel of Pencaenewydd, an Inland Carnarvonshire 
village, a few miles from ChwUog. Uncle Lloyd 
took David over by train on that fateful morn- 
ing to ChwUog; there they breakfasted, and walked 
over to Pencaenewydd. Uncle Lloyd and the Rev. 
John Owen performed the simple ceremony; and there 
were present only relations and a few friends. But It 
was recorded In the Carnarvon Herald that flags were 
to be seen everywhere In Criccleth, and In the evening, 
after the young couple had left for London, the people 
defied the drizzling rain with a bonfire and fireworks. 
Already the people knew their friend. 

Twenty-nine years later (1917) a daughter of these 
simple spousals was married with the same simplicity 
In a little Baptist chapel In London. Only the welling, 
pressing crowd outside the chapel showed that the man 
who stood by the pulpit giving away his daughter was 
Prime Minister of England. One wedding was as 
simple as the other. 

When they returned to Criccleth from their brief 
honeymoon, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd George settled down 
at first at Mynydd Ednyfed, In the farmhouse of the 
Owens, and there they spent a few happy years under 
her parents' roof. There the elder children were born. 

It was soon clear that the marriage was not going 
to bring any abatement of courageous action on the 
part of the young husband. Mrs. Lloyd George was 
not the sort of wife who encourages her husband to 
uxorious ease. She was, and always has been, on the 
side of daring. She faces danger with a simplicity 
which is disarming. 



MARRIAGE 1^ 

One night, for instance, there was to be held at 
Criccieth a meeting of the kind known as "Church 
Defence"; a species of gathering not free from offence 
to the people of Wales. David was suffering from a 
mild attack of tonsillitis. There seemed every reason 
why he should not go to the meeting. 

But the people of Carnarvonshire had had to stand 
a good deal of this sort of thing; and David's blood 
was up. He wanted to go. Would his young wife 
mind? She? "Why not go?" she said. 

So he went off, closely muffled up by a wife who was 
tender as well as brave. 

He stepped into the meeting with one definite object. 
It was his deliberate Intention to stop a practice that 
was growing into a scandal. It had become a habit 
In these gatherings to fend off the eager questionings 
of militant Nonconformity by disingenuous postpone- 
ment. It Is a method well known to the tricksters of 
public life. "Questions? Oh! yes, as many as you 
like I Only it Is more convenient to answer them at 
the close of the meeting!" Then at the close — "So 
sorry! But our friend here has to catch a train — his 
invaluable time — " We all know this sort of thing. 

But at the opening of this particular meeting — an 
important meeting, to be addressed by a very special 
Church advocate — there arose the young David Lloyd 
George, muffled but insistent. Yes, he wanted to ask 
some questions. No, he would rather ask them now. 
In fact, he Intended to ask them now. So he stood, 
pale to the lips, but unyielding. 

The audience, taking courage, began to clap and 
cheer. "To the platform!" shouted some one. So 



74 THE PRIME MINISTER 

David quite deliberately stepped up to the platform, 
mounted it, and began to address the meeting. 

In vain did the righteous rage. The chairman or- 
dered David down. He held his ground. Nay, he 
began to address the people, simply, incisively, thrill- 
ingly. The chairman was forgotten. David had be- 
come the speaker of the hour. 

Then a curious thing happened. Warming to the 
task, David began to take off his mufflers. He un- 
wound them and cast them aside. His hoarse voice be- 
came clear and ringing. The sick throat was forgotten. 

He captured the meeting. The platform was 
silenced. It was he who made the speech of the eve- 
ning; and at the end the enthusiastic Free Churchmen 
in the audience took up the young man and carried him 
from the hall on their shoulders. 

No, certainly, marriage had not pinioned the wings 
of this young stormy petrel. 



CHAPTER VI 

ENTERS PARLIAMENT 

"The day of the cottage-bred man has at last dawned," — 
Lloyd George. 

Now (1888) happily married and well started on 
his legal career, Mr. Lloyd George was able to return 
to his larger ambition of sitting in Parliament. From 
this time forward he definitely aspired to sit at West- 
minister as the representative of his own native constit- 
uency, the Carnarvon Boroughs. The achievement 
was not to be easy. There were many lions in the path. 

During the last few years, indeed, he had Immensely 
increased his reputation. He had travelled through 
many parts of Wales and visited many courts, fighting 
the cause of the "under-dog." The tenants of Wales, 
harried and evicted after 1868 and 1880, had begun to 
hold up their heads again. They felt that they had a 
new champion on their side. 

But the old habit of sending to Westminster only 
the powerful and wealthy was not yet dead. Feudalism ' 
always dies slowly. It was a very sudden change in- 
deed to pass from the squire and the manufacturer 
to the cottage -bred lad of Llanystumdwy. 

David Lloyd George, Indeed, neglected no oppor- 
tunities. Besides being a lawyer and a public speaker. 
He was now an active journalist. Working with that 
fine spirit, Mr. D. R. Daniel — then one of the noblest 

75 



76 THE PRIME MINISTER 

sons of the Young Welsh movement — David Lloyd 
George founded at Pwllheli in 1888 a paper called 
The Trumpet of Freedom — a name which certainly did 
not lack sound and vigour. 

Then, a few months after his marriage, with the 
consent and support of his fearless wife, he allowed 
his name first to be put forward as possible Liberal 
candidate for the Carnarvon Boroughs. 

Then followed one of those personal struggles which 
test and try a man. 

It is right that all claim to rise above our fellows 
should be narrowly scrutinised. There is even in 
jealousy some element of that instinct for equality 
which gives dignity to the meanest man. Here is a 
factor that takes multitudinous forms, varying from 
fair judgment to sheer malice. The strongest man will 
wince under the scorpions of spite; but he will accept 
the verdict of a fair jury of his peers. It was to such 
a jury that young David Lloyd George now fearlessly 
appealed. 

Certainly it was scarcely to be expected that his 
claims to the seat should pass unchallenged. He was 
still (1888) only twenty-five years old. He was ap- 
pealing to his own country-side; and a prophet is re- 
corded to have authority anywhere but there. There 
was the inevitable question of envious neighbors — "Is 
not this the bootmaker's boy?" There was the man 
who had known "David" with the curls down his back 
— who had kept a record of his youthful pranks. Then 
there was "the County" — that fine essence of squire- 
dom which had always regarded "the seat" as one of 
its own possessions. Above all, there were the little 
borough circles — ^the elders in the chapels, the grey- 



ENTERS PARLIAMENT 77 

Beards in the seats of the saints. There were some 
such seniors who shook their heads gravely at such 
madness. The boy must bide his time. Who was he 
to rule over them? For when David, the shepherd's 
youngest son, came up to face the Philistine champion, 
it was not only the Philistine enemy, but also his own 
elder brothers who scoffed and doubted. 

Against all these doubts and envies only one thing 
could prevail. It was the new wave of Nationalism 
which was sweeping over the younger generation 
throughout Wales, and especially North Wales. Wales 
was tired of those respectable professional members 
who were so easily captured by the political machines 
at Westminster. They wanted some one endowed with 
the courage to revolt; and already they had a percep- 
tion that David Lloyd George was such a man. He 
had shown this In his defence of the fishermen of 
Nantlle, and in his championship of that poor old 
quarryman of Llanfrothen. In both cases he had 
defied authority; and in both cases he had won. He 
ha>d been the first to break the tradition of fear which 
brooded over the Welsh people. 

He had already roused a new spirit of hope in the 
younger generation : and they were determined that he 
should carry their banner forward. 

At first his candidature progressed very slowly. It 
was true that the constituency had fared badly of re- 
cent years. In 1886, when Tom Ellis was sweeping 
all before him in Merionethshire, the Carnarvon Bor- 
oughs had put forward an old-fashioned Liberal who 
had lost the seat to an able Tory. 

At this time it was still in the possession of that 
Tory member — Mr. Swetenham, Q.C. Humdrum 



78 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Liberalism, as David Lloyd George had already proph- 
esied, had not proved a winning card in the Bor- 
oughs. But such an experience does not always remove 
prejudice. There were those who argued that a Q.C. 
could only be defeated by another Q.C. — or say, a 
professor; or perhaps, even better, a millionaire, if he 
could be obtained. We all know these dreams that 
haunt the minds of local committee-men in difficult and 
doubtful constituencies. 

The first step towards achievement was taken in the 
spring of 1888 when he was adopted as candidate by 
the Liberals in the Borough of Carnarvon.^ But for 
some months the other four Boroughs held aloof, and 
it was not until later in the year that he was selected as 
candidate by the Liberals of Nevin, Pwllheli, and 
Criccleth. For several months longer there was a 
hesitation among the respectabilities of that etnlnent 
cathedral city of Bangor, where even Liberalism has a 
tinge of blue. But on December 20th Bangor sur- 
rendered, and he was chosen as Liberal candidate for 
the whole constituency. 

It Is clear from the letters and diaries of the time 
that these months marked a period of great stress in his 
life. When he was selected at Bangor he wrote to 
his family one of those passionate youthful assertions 
of "will to win" characteristic of power in the bud: 

"Despite all the machinations of my enemies, I 
will succeed. I am now sailing before the wind, 
and they against It." 

*Now (1920) as then a constituency consisting of five Welsh Bor- 
oughs — Carnarvon, Bangor, Criccieth, Pwllheli, and Nevin. Out of 
consideration for the Prime Minister the constitution was left unaltered 
by the Act of 1918. 



ENTERS PARLIAMENT 79 

It is clear from these sentences that there was keen 
personal opposition to his candidature. It was a mo- 
ment in Welsh Liberalism of fierce tidal struggle be- 
tween the old and the new forces. The old forces died 
hard. That type of Liberalism, still not rare in Eng- 
land, which aims at cashing its seat in Parliament for 
money favours or local privileges, was by no means 
yet dead in Wales. The strong wind of that great 
national spirit which has since swept through the Prin- 
cipality had not yet risen to hurricane force. There 
were many elements of fear and self-interest which 
viewed with horror the challenge to powers in high 
places which David Lloyd George set before Wales 
as the only sure road to liberty. These men found his 
doctrine too hard for them. Mr. Doubting and Mr. 
Feeble-mind hoped still to serve two masters and to 
get the best of two worlds. It yet required a great 
struggle before David Lloyd George could convince 
them that his was a sign In which they could conquer. 
These great victories are not achieved easily; it is only 
through great storm and stress that nations attain to 
freedom of soul. 

But a great event in this progress was destined to 
take place the following year — 1889. It was a singu- 
lar curiosity of this period of reaction in British home 
affairs that there had crept into the Unionist Govern- 
ment a man of large and progressive views. Mr. C. T. 
Ritchie ^ had emerged from the British middle class to 
take his seat among the mighty of this land. He had 
not lost sight of his own people in the process. Mr. 
Ritchie was a bluff man, rugged of speech and ungainly 
of appearance. He seemed like a fly in amber in the 

* Afterwards Lord Ritchie. 



80 THE PRIME MINISTER 

midst of a Tory Government. But he happened to be 
very popular with Queen Victoria, and he was a power 
in the City of London. It has always been in England 
a part of the compromise of the great aristocrats who 
dominate the Tory Party that they should promote to 
high office a few shining lights of the middle class. 
In an earlier time they had to promote Sir Robert Peel 
— at a great price to their cause. Now they had to 
admit Mr. Ritchie; and the penalty was almost as 
great. For in 1888, by creating the County Councils, 
he struck a blow at the roots of county feudal govern- 
ment. 

Young Lloyd George saw in a flash the tremendous 
opportunity thus given to Wales. He knew by long 
experience that the power of the squires was largely 
based upon their control of county government in Quar- 
ter Sessions. He saw that they would endeavour to 
prolong their power by capturing the new County 
Councils. He determined to do his utmost to defeat 
them. He refused to stand for election himself, al- 
though he was offered four seats. His own ambition 
was larger. It was to capture the county. He moved 
about from place to place speaking everywhere and 
trying to rouse the whole of Carnarvonshire to the 
great chance now placed in their hands. He succeeded. 
He carried the county. Everywhere the candidates 
of progress were returned. "It is a revolution!" he 
cried. "The day of the squire has now gone!" ^ So 
profound was the conviction of the Welsh Liberals 
that he had won their battle for them that he was im- 
mediately chosen as county Alderman along with Mr. 

* In a speech at Liverpool on February i8th, 1889. The first men- 
tion of Mr. Lloyd George in a leading article was in the Carnarvon 
Herald over this speech. 




.•,.^,u,J,i\ , ..sjl.,., iJ.miim\ __j 



Mas. WILLIAM GEOHOE, THE MOTHEU OF DAVID LLOYD GEOHGE. 




•*^ 




DAVID LLOYD GEORGE AT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN 



ENTERS PARLIAMENT 81 

(now Sir) Arthur Acland, who, at that time, had a 
house in Carnarvonshire. 

"The boy Alderman," as he was called, instantly 
threw himself hotly into the new work of the Carnar- 
vonshire County Council. He became a conservator 
for those native rivers of his which he loved so dearly, 
soon winning for them that freedom for which he had 
always striven in other ways. He took an active part 
in every branch of administration. But his main pur- 
pose was directed to using the Welsh County Councils 
as a pohtical stepping-stone towards the great goal of 
Home Rule for Wales, He was a prime mover in 
appointing a Committee to collect evidence for the 
Royal Commission on the Sunday Closing Act in 
Wales. He pushed forward the idea of an Association 
of County Councils for the whole of the Principality. 
During those months of 1889 David Lloyd George 
created a Home Rule weapon in Wales of which he 
was destined to make a mighty use in one of the 
greatest struggles of his later years. Perhaps he 
"builded better than he knew." But it is a very strik- 
ing evidence of his early political instinct that he should 
have perceived so soon the full possibilities of the 
Welsh County Councils. 

The tide of events now began to sweep him rapidly 
towards a larger political career. As recognised can- 
didate for the Carnarvon Boroughs he already began 
to play an important part on the larger political stage. 
In October 1889 he had supported a Welsh Disestab- 
lishment resolution at a meeting of the Welsh Na- 
tional Council. In December he persuaded the Na- 
tional Liberal Federation at Manchester to accept the 
policy of the Local Veto on the drink traiflic. On 



82 THE PRIME MINISTER 

February 4th, 1890, he made at the South Wales Lib- 
eral Federation a brilliant and arresting speech on 
Welsh Home Rule — a speech which instantly marked 
him out as a coming figure in Welsh pohtics. He 
argued with force and power that, as compared with 
Ireland, the argument for Welsh Home Rule was 
stronger because they lacked the specific difficulty of 
Ireland — the Ulster problem. The speech made a 
deep mark. Already in his own country he stood for 
unity and daring, while even in England rumours began 
to reach the ears of Radical politicians that a new 
and fiery force was arising hard by the rocks of 
Snowdon. 

It was at this critical moment that Mr. Swetenham, 
the Conservative member for the Carnarvon Boroughs, 
died; and suddenly the young David Lloyd George was 
faced with a supreme challenge. Probably, if he had 
been able to shape events himself, he would have pre- 
ferred to wait a few years before standing for Parlia- 
ment. But to some men the call of fate comes early 
and swiftly, and cannot be denied. 

Certainly David Lloyd George showed no sign of 
hesitating to meet the call. On March 24th, 1890, he 
Issued his Address — a brief, terse, dignified statement 
of his political faith. It was not the Address of an 
ordinary Liberal candidate. True, he gave his homage 
to Mr. Gladstone and the cause of Irish Home Rule; 
but then he passed on rapidly to a strong assertion of 
the claims of Wales — first and foremost, for religious 
liberty and equality; then for sweeping reforms in 
land and labour laws; last, but not least, for a liberal 
extension to Wales of the principle of self-government. 



ENTERS PARLIAMENT 83 

In other words, Mr. Lloyd George stoou for Parlia- 
ment always before all things as a Welsh Nationalist. 
In subsequent years, when he was to be so often accused 
of disloyalty to the Liberal Party, that fact might per- 
haps have been more often remembered. 

The sudden death of the Tory member threw the 
Unionist organisers into some confusion. At first they 
pushed forward a Liberal Unionist; but Wales has no 
liking for the lukewarm in politics. Finally, they se- 
lected the local squire, Mr. Ellis Hugh Nanney,^ a 
strong Tory, but a man of considerable local popularity 
with those who admired him. 

Here, then, was a thrilling contest — between the 
village boy and the local squire; between the rebel of 
the village school and its secular ruler; between the 
Robin Hood of the village woods and their lord and 
owner. 

It was a sharp, keen struggle, fought to all appear- 
ances on Irish Home Rule; but the weapons of the 
fight were edged and pointed by the new spirit of 
freedom that was blowing hard from the Welsh hills. 
On Mr. Nanney's side was the old order, with all its 
powers and attractions, its graces and its condescen- 
sions; on the side of David Lloyd George was the 
keen, breezy hope of the future, with all its rough 
and rugged possibilities. In the end the veteran Lib- 
erals of Wales rallied to the support of the young 
David. Both Mr. John Parry and Mr. Thomas Gee — 
after a searching interrogation — came to his help. 

We may be sure that in the fierce atmosphere of that 
contest there was little effort to spare the humble 
origins of the Liberal candidate. It was characteristic 

* Now Sir Ellis Hugh Nanney. 



84 THE PRBIE MINISTER 

of David Lloyd George that he met these attacks, not 
with apology, but with bold defiance. 

On March 28th, speaking at Carnarvon, he uttered 
this ringing reply: 

"The Tories have not yet realised that the day 
of the cottage-bred man has at last dawned." ^ 

It is clear that that idea had taken hold of his 
mind with mastering power. 

We can recover a picture of that little by-election 
as the stniggle ebbed and flowed in the streets of those 
little Welsh townships, far away there between the 
mountains and the sea. To the great world it was a 
mere episode in Mr. Gladstone's last great struggle. - 
It was only dimly that the shrewd London special corre- 
spondents began to perceive that something else was 
at stake also — something else for Wales, something 
else for England also. 

We see the slow-moving drama working to a crisis 
through that far-away Easter-tide — the public still 
mainly absorbed in their holiday pleasures — the meet- 
ings at first feebly attended, and then, as the day of 

* These words are taken from the verbatim report of his speech ia 
the Carnar'i'on Herald. 

*Mr. Gladstone wrote the following by-election letter: 

"Dear Sir, 

"Your sanguine anticipations do not surprise me. My surprise 
would be this time, if a Welsh constituency were to return a gentle- 
man who, whether Tory or Liberal, would vote against the claims 
which Wales is now justly making, that her interests and feelings 
should at length be recognised in concerns properly her own. Even 
if he reserved or promised you his individual vote, by supporting 
the party opposed to you and keeping it in power, he would make 
that favourable vote perfectly nugatory. 

"I remain, 

"Your faithful servant. 

"W. E. Gladstone." 



ENTERS PARLIAMENT 85 

election draws near, more and more crowded — the 
squire-candidate at first amiably confident and aloof, 
pleading ill-health, then suddenly appearing constantly 
in public, feverishly canvassing, plainly alarmed by 
the reports of his agents. All through we can see the 
little "hamlet-lad" with the yellow rosette — boldly 
sporting his colours — flitting from town to town, urging 
on his supporters, speaking to the Welsh people in that 
sweet mellifluous, persuasive tongue of theirs, so magi- 
cal to those who know it. 

"A dull election," said the correspondents at first. 
The result seemed to them doubtful. These Londoners 
expected the Welsh to be very excitable ; and they were 
surprised to find them so calm. They forgot that deep 
waters run still. 

Then they began to notice the Liberal candidate. 
One who heard him speak in Welsh wrote to London: 
"I never heard any one speak Welsh so charmingly as 
Mr. Lloyd George. It was the first time I had heard 
him; and though I could not understand a word of it, it 
is exceedingly pleasant to listen to him." ^ Truly, a 
remarkable victory for the power of sound! 

Then, as the election goes forward, we can see pale 
fear gradually creeping through the ranks of Tuscany. 
The Welsh Tory agent was hurriedly sent down from 
headquarters and wired back that the situation was 
serious. Exertions were redoubled. On those last 
days this election certainly was not dull. Deep cried 
unto deep; and the Welsh crowds began to murmur 
like the restless sea which beats on their shores. 

Then comes the polling day — Friday, April 4th. 

*The Daily News, April 2nd, 1890: "He has a flexible, sympathetic 
voice, a silvery, mellifluous articulation, and his action is that of an 
accomplished orator," 



86 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Up to the last the Issue Is doubtful. It Is a neck-and- 
neck struggle. The poll Is very heavy. Carnarvon 
votes to a man — and Bangor almost to a man.^ The 
shrewd observers are puzzled. They feel like those 
who watch the meeting of the tides. The signs are 
not clear. One coming from Nevin finds David Lloyd 
George In Carnarvon the solitary wearer of his own 
favours. He cannot understand It. 

Then, the closing scene — the counting of the votes 
on the polling day In the room beneath the town hall 
at Carnarvon. It Is midday of a beautiful spring day, 
and the street outside Is packed with seething, expectant 
humanity. How slow they are Inside there ! How 
wearily the minutes drag on! But far away, over 
Criccleth, Snowdon shines, still snow-crowned, beauti- 
ful and serene. 

Inside the town hall the Issue wavers to and fro. 
From hour to hour fate oscillates In the balance. 

The votes have now been counted. The Nanney 
heap Is one side of the table, and the Lloyd George 
heap on the other. The heaps seem almost equal. But 
to the trained eyes of close observers the papers on 
the Nanney heap rise above his rival's by just a shadow 
of a shade. There can be" no doubt about It — David 
Lloyd George Is beaten. Better tell him at once. 

David Lloyd George smiles bravely. His friends 
gather round him with sober solace. ''Better luck next 
time" — when suddenly there Is a stir in the throng 
which surrounds the ballot papers. 

One of David Lloyd George's vigilant agents has 

*The Carnarvon Herald records that the Tories polled every possi- 
ble man. One voter was brought all the way from Wolverhampton. 
Three Carnarvon plasterers were brought by car to Carnarvon from 
the beach at Pwllheli, where they were working. 



ENTERS PARLIAMENT 87 

been better occupied than In uttering words. He stands 
eagerly scrutinising the piles of papers: and now his 
keen eye has noticed something doubtful about one 
of the packets of papers on Mr. Nanney's heap. He 
picks it up and glances rapidly through the voting- 
papers. Below one or two Nanney votes there is a 
little unnoticed series of votes for Lloyd George. It 
is enough to make the difference, and to return David 
Lloyd George as member by a majority of 20. * 

Stung by frustrated hope, the Nanney agents insist 
on a recount; and one vote is transferred from Lloyd 
George to Nanney, reducing the majority to 18. 

David Lloyd George is M.P. for the Carnarvon 
Boroughs! 

The word goes swiftly forth. As soon as he appears, 
he is received by that hitherto silent crowd with tu- 
multuous acclaim. The still waters break into foam. 
He Is drawn in a carriage through the town by a tre- 
mendous crowd. At Castle Square he addresses them 
In Welsh: "My dear fellow-countrymen," he says, "the 
county of Carnarvon to-day is free. The banner of 
Wales Is borne aloft, and the boroughs have wiped 
away the stains!" 

Eighteen votes ^ — not a very large gap between de- 
feat and victory. But It Is enough. 'Twill serve. The 
moving finger has written. 

*The full figures were: 

David Lloyd George i>963 

Ellis Nanney • • i,945 

Majority 18 



CHAPTER VII 

FIRST SKIRMISHES 

"And now, 
Out of that land where Snowdon night by night 
Receives the confidences of lonely stars, 
And where Carnarvon's ruthless battlements 
Magnificently oppress the daunted tide, 
There comes, no fabled Merlin, son of mist. 
And brother to the twilight, but a man." 

William Watson on Mr. Lloyd George. 

Entering the House of Commons in April 1890, 
David Lloyd George walked straight into one of those 
great party struggles which in those days supplied the 
British public with an efficient substitute for the Prize 
Ring. The subject was a clause in the Budget of 1890 
compensating the Drink Trade for abolished licences. 
The whole Liberal Party attacked this clause hotly 
under the leadership of Mr. Gladstone. The whole 
Unionist Party supported it. 

On the face of It, the young Lloyd George, hot with 
temperance enthusiasm, could not have found a more 
congenial theme. But his letters and diaries reveal 
that he felt an immediate chill on contact with the 
House of Commons. He found the drink question 
being used as a great party weapon on both sides. 
Shrewd political calculations had annexed one party to 
drink and another party to temperance. But the young 
Lloyd George, drunk with the temperance faith, de- 
tected no real enthusiasm on either side. 

88 



FIRST SKIRMISHES 89 

"The debate," he wrote to his uncle on May i6th, 
"was rather an unreal one, no fervour or earnestness 
characterising it. The House does not seem at all to 
realise or to be impressed with the gigantic evils of 
drunkenness." 

It was characteristic of young Lloyd George that he 
hoped for a great change in the atmosphere when the 
country was really aroused; and he proceeded to do 
his best to arouse it. 

Often in the years that followed the young Lloyd 
George felt the same chill in the atmosphere of West- 
minster. He often used to say in those days that he 
found it necessary to renew his strength by constantly 
visiting the constituencies. He was always rather a 
platform man than a House of Commons man: he was 
never a great lobbyist. Often in those early years he 
used to find that he gained more inspiration from great 
popular meetings than from a week in the House of 
Commons. 

He was a little timid of the House of Commons^ — 
perhaps wisely so. He saw in a moment that the 
House liked to be wooed carefully. "I shan't speak 
in the House this side of the Whitsuntide holidays," 
he wrote to his uncle. "Better not appear too eager. 
Get a good opportunity and make the best of it — 
that's the point." There, at any rate, he showed that 
he had the first qualification for parliamentary success 
— respect for his audience. 

I can remember the ferment of expectation that gath- 
ered round Mr. Lloyd George among those of us who, 
in those days, watched the House of Commons from 
the gallery. We had heard vaguely of him as a great 
"spell-binder" in North Wales. We had been told 



CHAPTER VII 

FIRST SKIRMISHES 

"And now, 
Out of that land where Snowdon night by night 
Receives the confidences of lonely stars, 
And where Carnarvon's ruthless battlements 
Magnificently oppress the daunted tide, 
There comes, no fabled Merlin, son of mist. 
And brother to the twilight, but a man." 

William Watson on Mr. Lloyd George. 

Entering the House of Commons in April 1890, 
David Lloyd George walked straight into one of those 
great party struggles which in those days supplied the 
British public with an efficient substitute for the Prize 
Ring. The subject was a clause in the Budget of 1890 
compensating the Drink Trade for abolished licences. 
The whole Liberal Party attacked this clause hotly 
under the leadership of Mr. Gladstone. The whole 
Unionist Party supported it. 

On the face of It, the young Lloyd George, hot with 
temperance enthusiasm, could not have found a more 
congenial theme. But his letters and diaries reveal 
that he felt an immediate chill on contact with the 
House of Commons. He found the drink question 
being used as a great party weapon on both sides. 
Shrewd political calculations had annexed one party to 
drink and another party to temperance. But the young 
Lloyd George, drunk with the temperance faith, de- 
tected no real enthusiasm on either side. 

88 



FIRST SKIRMISHES 89 

"The debate," he wrote to his uncle on May i6th, 
"was rather an unreal one, no fervour or earnestness 
characterising it. The House does not seem at all to 
realise or to be impressed with the gigantic evils of 
drunkenness." 

It was characteristic of young Lloyd George that he 
hoped for a great change in the atmosphere when the 
country was really aroused; and he proceeded to do 
his best to arouse it. 

Often in the years that followed the young Lloyd 
George felt the same chill in the atmosphere of West- 
minster. He often used to say in those days that he 
found it necessary to renew his strength by constantly 
visiting the constituencies. He was always rather a 
platform man than a House of Commons man: he was 
never a great lobbyist. Often in those early years he 
used to find that he gained more inspiration from great 
popular meetings than from a week in the House of 
Commons. 

He was a little timid of the House of Commons^ — 
perhaps wisely so. He saw in a moment that the 
House liked to be wooed carefully. "I shan't speak 
in the House this side of the Whitsuntide holidays," 
he wrote to his uncle. "Better not appear too eager. 
Get a good opportunity and make the best of it — 
that's the point." There, at any rate, he showed that 
he had the first qualification for parliamentary success 
— respect for his audience. 

I can remember the ferment of expectation that gath- 
ered round Mr. Lloyd George among those of us who, 
in those days, watched the House of Commons from 
the gallery. We had heard vaguely of him as a great 
"spell-binder" in North Wales. We had been told 



90 THE PRIME MINISTER 

that no man equalled him in his power of rousing 
Welsh crowds in the Welsh tongue. We hard heard 
that he had the gift of the "hwyl"; and, not knowing 
quite what that meant, we expected to see something 
resembling a Druid appear on the floor of the House 
of Commons. Imagine our surprise, therefore, when 
we saw a slim, well-groomed young lawyer in a frock 
coat and with side-whiskers. The few questions he 
asked in the first week revealed that he had a soft, 
rather sweet voice, and was more inclined to speak in 
a whisper than a shout. All these things seriously 
upset our calculations, and considerably disappointed 
the hopes of all fervid sketch-writers. 

It was on June 13th, 1890, that he first broke his 
parliamentary silence by a speech on the compensation 
clauses. He supported Mr. Acland's amendment for 
diverting Mr. Goschen's grant from liquor compensa- 
tion to technical education. 

It was by no means the speech of a fanatical Druid. 
It was a soft-spoken, skilful piece of debating expressed 
in excellent idiomatic English. It was full of swift 
debating thrusts and sharp-edged jests. It was in this 
speech that he described Lord Randolph Churchill and 
Joseph Chamberlain as "political contortionists who 
can perform the great feat of planting their feet in one 
direction and setting their faces in another." Here 
was just the kind of humour that the House of Com- 
mons loves. It came well within the line of that tra- 
ditional parliamentary wit which has to be appreciated 
even by its victims. 

In fine, Mr. Lloyd George's maiden speech seemed 
a good start for a promising parliamentary career. 
It was approved by Mr. Gladstone, praised by Sir 



FIRST SKIRMISHES 91 

William Harcourt, and cheered by the House itself. 

For the moment the young Welsh victor was a con- 
spicuous figure. He stood in the limelight. He re- 
ceived from many quarters those purple favours which 
have turned the heads of so many young members fresh 
from a by-election. For this return, coming after 
several defeats of other candidates, was a notable event 
in the close and desperate partisan warfare of those 
years. 

It was an event, indeed, deemed worthy of special 
attention from the veteran leader of the Liberal hosts. 
Mr. Gladstone smiled on Wales. On May 29th Mr. 
Ll-oyd George was Invited to Hawarden with a party 
of Wels'h constituents, who sang hymns and folk-songs 
on that historic lawn. The young recruit was Intro- 
duced to the Grand Old Man, who honoured.him with 
a special oration. "The Carnarvon Boroughs," he 
said In his stately way, "are a formidable place for 
the Liberal Party to fight. Penrhyn Castle Is an Im- 
portant centre. But truth, justice, and freedom are 
greater than Penrhyn Castle!" Mr. Gladstone was 
no doubt thinking of little more than his beloved cause 
of Ireland; but the words echoed through Wales with 
a meaning that perhaps Mr. Gladstone himself little 
dreamed of. 

Thus David Lloyd George was initiated Into the 
sanctities of the Liberal party. But he was not always 
to prove an easy and obedient acolyte. 

For the House of Commons had not yet had any 
taste of Mr. Lloyd George's rebellious humours. The 
real test of this quality was yet to come. 

It came on August 13th of this year (1890) when 



92 THE PRIME MINISTER 

he let himself go with a touch of his own native daring 
on some of the items of the Estimates. He selected 
them from among those decorative payments which are 
far too easily granted by an assembly always inclined 
to be kind to the great and prosperous. One of the 
items was a payment of £439 on the installation of 
Prince Henry of Prussia as a Knight of the Garter. 
"What service," asked Mr. Lloyd George boldly, "has 
Prince Henry of Prussia ever rendered to this country? 
He has not yet rendered any service to his own coun- 
try, to say nothing of service -to Great Britain." 

Then he passed to an Item of £2,769 — "equipage 
money" to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. "The 
Lord-Lieutenant," said Mr. Lloyd George, "is simply 
a man in buttons who wears silk stockings and has a 
coat-of-arms on his carriage." At this he was called 
severely .to order by the Chairm-an, but that did not 
prevent him from a ruthless ccwnparison of this ex- 
penditure with the recent report of a Sweating Com- 
mittee and the terrible revelations of poverty contained 
In that document. 

Here the House of Commons had a touch of the 
real Lloyd George whom they were t«o get to know 
so well in the future. It was for this that he had come 
to Westminster; not for conventional party speeches, 
but for plain homely utterance on the pomps and con- 
ventions and extravagances of the great world. Here 
we get a first hint of his mission : a difficult and even 
cruel mission — to tell the comfortable and wealthy that 
they were living on the poor — to tell the decorative 
that they must be decorative no longer, but must either 
be useful or come down from their high places. He 
knew that such talk was not going to be popular in the 



FIRST SKIRMISHES 93 

House of Commons, but he was looking to another 
quarter for approval. Writing in his diary the day 
before delivering the speech on Prince Henry of Prus- 
sia's Garter he made the following significant entry: 

"My audience is the country." 

It was to the country, indeed, that he was already 
making his chief appeal. His biggest efforts of this 
year were made outside the House of Commons. The 
first was made on May 7th at the Metropolitan Taber- 
nacle, where the Liberal Party appeared in full force 
to support Welsh Disestablishment. He prepared his 
speech with the utmost care. He sent notes of it down 
to his uncle at Criccleth and received the comments and 
criticisms of the "Esgob" — the "Bishop" — as he loved 
to call Richard Lloyd. 

Mr. Lloyd George was perhaps a little humanly 
disappointed when he discovered that, graded by party 
officialism, he had been given the lowest place in the 
list of speakers at the Tabernacle. But this was soon 
forgotten when he once got into his stride. Although 
the audience had been dismally thinned by a succession 
of dreary orations, they sat out his speech to the end. 
He had intended to go on for only five or ten minutes : 
but the cheering and laughter of his audience carried 
him on for twenty-five. This was the very thing — 
here was a man to whom Welsh Disestablishment was 
an actual life issue, and not a mere new Item in a party 
programme. When at last he sat down, the audience 
seemed surprised. Like a wise man, he left them un- 
satisfied, and the result was that the public soon de- 
manded more. 

After this success he was deluged with requests for 



96 THE rRBlE MINISTER 

trict Council had to take action; and they instructed Mr. 
William Cicorgc. 

Complaint was in \'aln; it was soon necessary to 
prosecute. Hut tlie summons a«;ainst Mr. Casson the 
agent could only be issued hy Mr. Casson the Clerk 
of the justices: and Mr. Casson the Clerk of the Jus- 
tices refused to issue it. lie seemed safely protected 
by his own loyalty to himself. 

Not an unusual incident in our happy countryside, 
in I'^noland as well as In Wales; but Mr. OaNid 1 -lin'd 
Cleoroe tiieie auil then determined that it should not 
occur au,ain in Portmadoc. 

Mr. William George reported the situation to his 
brother, who said, "Leave this to me." Next day he 
went into ciiurt. 1 le began by challengino- (he bench. 
Vor one cause or another he was able to disqualify 
all the magistrates except a schoolmaster anil a bank 
manager, men ot open minds. To them Mr. Lloyd 
George then began to denounce Mr. Casson with merci- 
less vigour for a whole hour. lie lashctl him ruth- 
lessly for his misuse of his pi>wers. 1 le demanded that 
he should sit where every other culprit had to sit — in 
the dock. 

Mr. Casson did not remain quiet under these lashes. 
He protested and interrupted for a time, but was at 
last quelled by Mr, Lloyd George's attack. Tlicn he 
subsided into silence until the magistrates sternly or- 
dered the issue of the necessary summonses. The re- 
sult was that the dangerously crumbling walls com- 
plained of by the L^rban Council were put in a state of 
safety for the public. 

I When Mr. Lloyd George opened this scene the court 
was almost empty; but in a few minutes the public out- 



FIRST SKTRMISHES 07 

side had seemed to i^cl wind of wliai was }i;q)pcnin^. 
Lonjj; hcforc ific at tuck ended the court was crowded 
with peo[)l(: who niad(t no attempt to conceal tJieir ap- 
proval. To this d;iy Port:madoc wiH tell you that Mr. 
Lloyd (icoryv, rjcvcr flid a, more necessary piece of 
work, or (hd if more thoroujifil/, than on this notahlc 
day. 

It 18 not remarkable that, feelin}:^ tficsf. j)owcrs f^rfjw- 
in^ witfiin him, he shrjuld have thouj^ht seriously at this 
time of hein^ called t:o the i''n):^lish liar. I lis ir'icnd 
Samuel Iwans ur^ed this on fiim. I le put his name 
down. Hut at that poif)t some rare str;i,ir) of fhffidence 
held him hack — some instinctive shrinkinjr. At any 
rate, he ntvcr carried the matter furtfier; hut went on 
attemptinj:^ to comhinf; with his [)a.rlia,mentary duties 
the conduct of fiis solicitor's practice at ]\)rtmadf>c. 

But he could not ^o on permanently with this df;ul)le 
strain. More and more the f)uhlir demanded speeches 
from him In the a,utumfis; and he had less and less time 
for work at J\)rtmadoc. In May iH(jy he sent for his 
friend Arthur Rhys Roberts, a solicitor who was prac- 
t'lsinfr at Newport in South Wales. I fe asked him to 
join lilm In starting an office in London. They took 
rooms in 13, Walbrook, J'".C.,' where they opened with 
no prospects except the vague promises of friends; and 
for the first three years David IJoyd Cicorge gave a 
great deal of time to this venture. I le went to the 
office every morning and to the f louse in the after- 
noons. I le worked hard for the firm. Me wrote all 
important letters; lie conducted all important: Inter- 

' In i<j'>r) thf.y whiffed to 63, (liu-.cn Victoria Street, R.C., which in 
now tin; office of itic firm of KhyH Kobcrts Sc Co., a« it tia« he.c.n called 
«iric»- Mr. Lloyd C;corj4c Hcvered hj« connection with it after taking 
Government office. 



98 THi: ru IME MINISTER 

views — rol'tcn at the House of Commons. He was still 
a partner at Criccieth, and thus for a time he main- 
tained a double position in the law — the partner in 
two firms. But Criccieth counted less and less, and 
gradually passed entirely into the hands of his brother. 

He earned a fair income; but it was a hard life, and 
he had to supplement it with journalistic work for 
Welsh papers and for the Manchester Guardian. He 
was quite a vigorous writer in those days., The burden 
was heavy. But he had beside him the great courage 
and thrift of his wile, and behind him the high and 
splendid spirit of his "Uncle Lloyd." 

His life in those early days was full and serene, 
crowded with work and play. The children began to fill 
his quiver — Dick, Mair, Olwen, Gwilym — those young 
voices that speak with our enemies in the gate. He 
loved children; and he loved life. He was already sur- 
rounded with friends, and especially with that bright 
band of young Welshmen who were gathering to West- 
minster — Tom Ellis, Herbert Lewis, Frank Edwards, 
Sam Evans, Llewellyn Williams. So girt, he ever took 
life "with a frolic welcome." 

His was a spirit welded of laughter and tears, 
moulded for great adventures. He learnt even in 
those early days the great art of varying grave with 
gay. But then, as now, the gay never took the place 
first. It was always there as a servant rather than 
master — a foil to grave endeavour; a background to 
serious purposes. 

He had, of course, those little weaknesses that re- 
quire the forgiveness of affection. He could always, 
when he wished, write letters with the best — especially 
when letters were really required for business or af- 



FIRST SKIRMTSITES 99 

fairs. But he would not write the small letters, or 
answer the small letters. He was not very precise over 
social engagements. He was always more faithful to 
his humble friends than to the great and fashionable; 
and he sometimes forgot Gilbert's great discovery— 
that even Belgrave Square has a heart behind its stucco. 

Behind all the colour and zest of his young, eager 
life there was always that same quality of courage that 
knit his character like an iron girder. He had a serene 
confidence in his own star. I le did not know the word 
"impossible." The greater the obstacle the greater his 
security of success. It was this note that dominated his 
thought and speech. 

But, after all, it was at those gatherings of his 
friends, when the pipes were lit and the laughter rang 
free, that the true Lloyd George was to be seen and 
heard — the Lloyd George who has since won the hearts 
of nations. Those were wonderful meetings of young 
souls at that little flat in Kensington. How that sym- 
phony of laughter and speech rings across the years, 
the echo of those grave debates of youth in which, 
though we knew it not, opinions were moulding and a 
will forming which, in the coming time, were to fashion 
and shake the world! 



CHAPTER YIII 

PITCHED BATTLES 

"Though it appear a little out of fashion, 
There is much care and valour in this Welshman." 

Shakespeare's Henry V, Act I, Sc. iv. 

David Lloyd George had gone to Parliament as a 
Welsh Nationalist; and, as the months passed, it be- 
came clear that the task of moulding and defending the 
new national cause in Wales would absorb his main 
energies. 

It was not a popular task at Westminster, where it 
cut right across the party divisions. It was not even yet 
wholly an easy task in Wales, where the old spirit of 
feudalism had many strongholds and was still "an 
unconscionable time in dying." 

Throughout the following years (1892—7) David 
Lloyd George had to fight a double battle — at West- 
minster and in Wales. At Westminster he took the 
lead of a small group of Welsh members — often only 
four — who greatly dared to put the cause of Wales 
before the cause of party — never an easy task in a 
House where the party system is the very oxygen of 
the political atmosphere. On all great public ques- 
tions that arose in those years — tithes, free schooling, 
local option, clergy discipline — he steadily and daringly 
pursued the national course and built up a national 
policy. 

100 



PITCHED BATTLES id 

The influence that kept him straight on this course 
came ever from his own native soil. For he was in 
daily touch with that faithful little family group — 
those four loyal souls — his uncle, his brother, his sister, 
and his mother — who kept for him, while he battled in 
London, the fires burning on the home hearth, helped 
his wife by looking after the children in moments of 
stress, and steadily aided him with counsel and inspira- 
tion. David wrote to that little family party a daily 
record of his doings ; and day by day Uncle Lloyd wrote 
to his "Di" long letters, partly in Welsh, partly in 
English, advising him on every question that arose, al- 
ways taking the bold side, always bringing his nephew 
back to the goals of his pilgrimage — faith and father- 
land. "Land of our Fathers" was the key-phrase in 
Uncle Lloyd's poHtics; and, amid the stress and dis- 
traction of Westminster, his boy was never allowed, for 
a single day, to miss hearing that clear call from the 
Eagle mountains. 

Here was the source of his strength in the strug- 
gles that now lay before him, calling for the utmost 
exercise of will and decision. For, if the Welsh cause 
was to be kept to the front, it was necessary to fight 
continually against the submerging influence of the 
party machines. 

The most remarkable among these contests of the 
early nineties was undoubtedly that memorable fight 
undertaken by Mr. Lloyd George and a small band of 
Welsh fellow-members against Mr. Gladstone in the 
zenith of his power and frame over the Clergy 
Discipline Bill. 

The Bill seemed a very innocent and reasonable 
measure. It aimed at strengthening the control of 



102 THE PRIME MINISTER 

the Anglican Bishops — always weak enough — over 
their clergy. To Englishmen reasonable enough; but 
not so to Welshmen, to whom the very word "Bishop" 
was almost as hateful a sound as to the Presbyterian 
Scotch. Not until the Bishops released their hold on 
Wales would they consent to give them a stronger hold 
over their own clergy. 

Now the Bill happened to be a very special favourite 
of Mr. Gladstone, who still loved his Church with a 
mighty love, and Mr. Gladstone was at that moment a 
very formidable opponent. It is difficult now to realise 
the power of his authority at that moment. The Lib- 
erals who had remained faithful to him regarded him 
with a loyalty that amounted to a passion. To dis- 
pute his word would seem to them the nearest secular 
approach to heresy or sacrilege. It was that spirit 
that Mr. Lloyd George dared to defy. 

It was a sight for the gods to see those young Welsh- 
men, night after night, facing the Grand Old Man. 
There he sat, almost alone on the Front Opposition 
Bench, battling against those eager young members. 
He took them very seriously. He argued with them, 
pleaded with them, rebuked them. Mr. Lloyd George 
thoroughly enjoyed the experience. "Ah! But he is a 
great debater!" he would say. But one thing he never 
forgot — the Grand Old Man's eye. He has often said 
that to face that eye in anger was one of the most try- 
ing experiences In his parliamentary life. Years after, 
when some of us were discussing the points of likeness 
between the Grand Old Man and that gallant grandson 
who so splendidly gave his life for his country, Mr. 
Lloyd George suddenly burst out: "Ah! But he has 
not got the Old Man's terrible eye!" 



PITCHED BATTLES 103 

Mr. Gladstone pursued the matter to the end. He 
took a seat on the Grand Committee that was to con- 
sider the Bill. He and Mr. Lloyd George fought the 
matter out. It was only towards the end that Mr. 
Gladstone realised one day that his own speeches were 
prolonging the fight; and then the Old Man would sit 
glaring at the impudent youngsters in speechless anger. 

But Mr. Gladstone bore no grudges against a good 
fighter who stood up for his own honest faith ; and some 
years afterwards, when he met Mr. Lloyd George at 
Sir Edward Watkin's house on the slopes of Snowdon, 
he made a special point of singling him out for special 
friendly speech. 

Such revolts did not make Mr. Lloyd George more 
popular with the orthodox Enghsh Liberals. But 
things were to become worse before they became better. 
In the years 1892-5 came that great and prolonged 
contention between the Welsh members and the English 
machine over the position of Welsh Disestablishment 
among the Liberal fighting measures. In that conten- 
tion Mr. Lloyd George took a leading part. 

Welsh Disestablishment in Wales, ever since 1868, 
had taken the same position and grown to the same 
power as the Home Rule Movement in Ireland. The 
Welsh was a Nationahst movement in a religious dress. 
But English Liberalism had been chilly towards this 
movement, and treated it with scant favour. Mr. Glad- 
stone opposed it in 1870, and it was only in 1891 that 
he first supported it, and allowed it a place in the fa- 
mous Newcastle Programme. But so greatly was the 
Liberal Party absorbed in the Home Rule struggle 
that in 1892-3 the Welsh cause slipped back and the 
Liberals showed a definite tendency to shelve it. 



104 THE PRIME MINISTER 

It was at that moment that that small group of young 
Welshmen again stepped forward and definitely de- 
manded that Welsh Disestablishment should be carried 
through the House of Commons and sent up to the 
House of Lords. 

Mr. Lloyd George was the leader of this revolt; 
and for those two years he conducted it with a ruthless 
persistence which galled and embittered the Liberals, 
wearied by the great fatigues of the Home Rule strug- 
gle. For it was precisely in 1893, just after the great 
disappointment of the rejection of the Home Rule 
Bill by the House of Lords, that he roused the whole 
of Wales to demand the production of the Welsh Dis- 
establishment Bill, 

There followed one of those intense sectional strug- 
gles which in our party system are largely veiled from 
public view, but are none the less bitter for that. 

Those of us English Liberals who were actual spec- 
tators of the battle certainly regarded Mr. Lloyd 
George as far from reasonable. We were looking at 
the matter from the angle of English Liberalism. His 
was the angle of Welsh Nationalism. Those angles 
sometimes crossed. 

Mr, Gladstone resigned on March ist, 1894; and 
Mr. Lloyd George instantly demanded of the new Gov- 
ernment that the Welsh Disestablishment Bill should 
be carried through the Commons in 1894, unless they 
.were prepared immediately to take up the struggle with 
the Lords, in which case he was prepared to forego 
the claim of Wales based on the Newcastle Resolution 
to legislative attention immediately after the Home 
Rule Bill. 

The harassed Liberals — sensitive from weakening 



PITCHED BATTLES 105 

vitality — struggled on their bed of torture. Sir Wil- 
liam Harcourt, the new leader in the Commons, at first 
refused. Mr. Lloyd George pursued his offensive with 
a fierce attack at Holywell, Then came Mr. Asquith 
with a vague speech at Plymouth ; and at last on April 
26th, 1894, the Disestabhshment Bill was introduced. 
Again came delay. But the revolt went steadily for- 
ward ; and the unhappy Government, with its dwindling 
majority, squirmed like some victim under the mediaeval 
torture of the peine forte et dure. 

At the opening of the Session of 1895 the Rosebery 
Government were perforce obliged to push the Dises- 
tablishment Bill forward. It was carried by a majority 
of 44 on April ist, 1895. But yielding brought no peace. 
The Government was forced to pass the Bill through 
Committee; and during that stage Mr. Lloyd George 
and his friends fiercely pressed certain nationalist 
amendments which the Government reluctantly accept- 
ed. These convulsions proved too much for a sick Min- 
istry. On August nth, 1895, while the Welshmen were 
away in Wales devising new measures of torture, the 
Rosebery Administration fell over the "cordite vote." 

Mr. Lloyd George was fiercely attacked by orthodox 
Liberals for his conduct in this affair. He was roundly 
accused of hastening the downfall of the Government. 
He answered by saying that the Government was al- 
ready doomed from internal dissensions. 

But in Wales his attitude was greeted with acclaim; 
and in the General Election that followed, he was able 
to defeat Mr. Ellis Nanney once more with a majority 
practically identical with that of 1892.^ 

* 194 votes as against 196 in 1892, when he defeated Sir John Pules- 
ton, the popular Tory champion,. 



106 THE PRIME MINISTER 

The reason was clear. The Welsh now cared more 
for their own causes than for the causes of the Liberal 
Party. The spirit of nationalism had spread from 
Ireland to Wales. They cared nothing for the Rose- 
bery Government. They did not believe that the Com- 
mons could any longer legislate — not until the Lords 
were fought and crushed. What they were looking to 
was that the future claims of Wales should be pegged 
out as clearly as the claims of Ireland. 

It was for that spirit that Mr. Lloyd George stood 
now in Wales. 

Not that, even in Wales, the victory of Welsh na- 
tionalism was achieved without a struggle. During 
these years (1893—7) parallel with his activities at 
Westminster, David Lloyd George was engaged in a 
great campaign within Wales itself. It was a cam- 
paign for unity and concentration. 

He found in 1892 the political energies of Wales 
divided between a number of purely party organisa- 
tions, precisely after the fashion of England. Parlia- 
ment Street had carved up the Welsh counties in the 
same spirit and method as Canterbury had carved up 
the Welsh dioceses. There were the North Wales 
Federation and the South Wales Federation, and a 
number of other similar bodies, with all the various 
staffs and camp-followers who find their meat and malt 
in local distinctions and differences. The worst of it 
was that these local divisions often blazed up into 
national divergences on points of policy. 

On the other hand, there were simultaneously grow- 
ing up among the younger generation of Wales a vast 
number of common national organisations and societies, 



PITCHED BATTLES 107 

literary, social, and political. There was the same fer- 
ment that we have of late years seen in Ireland — the 
ferment of a new national growth, shown in language, 
literature, and even in costume. There was the Cymru 
Fydd ("Wales of the Future"), the Cymmrodorion, 
and, above all, the revived Eisteddfod, that remarkable 
annual Welsh festival of poetry and song which seems 
to combine the spirit of classical Greece and of Celtic 
Britain. 

Mr. Lloyd George aspired to bring into Welsh poli- 
tics some of the strength and hope of this new national 
rebirth. 

His definite aim, in the long series of great orations 
which he delivered on this subject between 1889 and 
1896, was to bring patriotism to the help of Welsh 
politics in place of party — 

"The spirit of patriotism has been like the 
genie of Arabian fable. It has burst asunder 
the prison doors and given freedom to them that 
were oppressed. It has transformed the wilder- 
ness into a garden and the hovel into a home." ^ 

It was his aim that the same spirit should transform 
Wales. 

A simple aim, it would seem. But no sooner did he 
set finger on the various political Arks that had been 
set up for worship in the different competing capitals 
of Wales than he found himself faced with the fiercest 
hostihty. Among his bitterest opponents was one of 
his own followers in the House, Mr. D. A. Thomas 
(afterwards Lord Rhondda). Mr. Thomas set him- 

^ October 1894. 



108 THE PRIME MINISTER 

self up as the champion of the South Wales Federa-, 
tlon; and he succeeded In maintaining the cause of local 
independence. 

So tense and prolonged was the struggle that Mr. 
Lloyd George was content in the end to achieve his pur- 
poses in another way, by way of a Welsh National 
Council. "A rose by any other name will smell as 
sweet" — that Is an Important thing to remember In poli- 
tics. Mr. Lloyd George has never forgotten it. 

Here, In Wales, was evidently a case of nationalism 
only slowly struggling into consciousness, with many 
forces still to contend against. But If we take a long 
survey, and cast our eyes over the last half-century 
( 1 867-1920) how great is the contrast ! Then (1867) 
there was a Wales almost entirely subject to Its feudal 
chiefs, scarcely daring to assert Its own language or 
nationality. Now (1920) there Is a Wales returning 
an almost unbroken national party, and a majority of 
Welsh-speaking members. 

In this great change David Lloyd George played a 
leading part. 

The division between Welsh Nationalism and British 
Liberalism did not last long. British Liberalism, es- 
sentially in sympathy with Nationalism, soon forgave 
Mr. Lloyd George. Welsh Nationalism, always es- 
sentially Liberal, soon made Its peace again with Liber- 
alism. 

It was during the struggles of 1896—9 that the recon- 
ciliation came. Then in the great parliamentary strife 
over the Agricultural Rates Bill and the Voluntary 
Schools Bill, Mr. Lloyd George first showed his mettle 
as a leader of parliamentary guerillas. Nay, more. At 



PITCHED BATTLES 109 

the moment when British Liberalism was bereft of 
leadership he gave it a lead. That was the great point. 
Mr. Lloyd George's great fight against the Agricul- 
tural Rates Bill in 1896 marked, indeed, his first great 
advance towards an assured parliamentary position. It 
was the first of the measures put forward by our 
Agrarians for the special relief of agriculture from the 
misfortunes which had befallen them in the seventies 
and the eighties. A small affair as compared with later 
proposals; but Mr. Lloyd George conceived against it 
an Implacable hatred. It was not the relief that he 
hated; but he argued that under our land system the 
money would all go finally Into the pockets of the land- 
lords. He believed this sincerely; and he fought a 
great fight against the whole proposal. 

The struggle went on through the early months of 
the Session of 1896. The Unionists at first took it 
lightly; then they grew angry. Here, it seemed, was 
a man who must really be reckoned with. This little 
Welsh attorney, this chapel-trained Nonconformist, 
actually seemed to know a thing or two about the sacred 
land system of these islands. He could not be ignored. 
His pertinacity and resourcefulness seemed to be in- 
exhaustible. The fight went on from day to day, and 
there seemed no end. 

On May 21st the Government moved and the Chair- 
man accepted the "block" closure on the vital clause of 
the Bill — Clause four. 

When the Chairman called the House to go into the 
division lobbies it was seen that a little group of mem- 
bers were sitting still on their seats, refusing to move. 
They were Mr, Lloyd George and Mr. Herbert Lewis, 
backed by a little group of sympathetic Irishmen — Mr. 



110 THE PRIME MINISTER 

John Dillon, Dr. Tanner, and Mr. Donald Sullivan — 
and by one Radical — Sir John Brunner. 

"I must request honourable members to proceed to 
the division lobbies," said the Chairman. 

"I decline to go out under the circumstances," said 
Mr. Lloyd George, speaking with his hat on, as in duty 
bound. 

It was a new event. The Chairman was puzzled 
what to do. So he called the House back, summoned 
the Speaker — then Mr. Gully- — from his repose, and 
reported to him what had happened. 

"Do I understand," said the Speaker sternly to Mr. 
Lloyd George, "that you refuse to clear the House?" 

Mr. Lloyd George was quite unshaken by all this 
awful panoply of parliamentary terrorism. 

"That Is so, sir," said he; "as a protest, I declined 
to go out." • 

Then came the turn of that valiant and faithful soul 
— the Fidus Achates of our JEneRs — Mr. Herbert 
Lewis. Did he too — so quiet and dutiful — refuse to 
go out? 

"I regard this Bill, sir, as legalised robbery," he 
said with a sudden outburst of honest vehemence. 

After that there was nothing more to be said. The 
sacrilegious word had been spoken, and it was time for 
the high-priests of the temple to act. So the Leader of 
the House moved the suspension of these wicked men 
— the House voted the suspension by 209 to 58 — and 
the Speaker called on them to withdraw. Mr. Lloyd 
George cheerfully rose to obey. 

"For how long, sir?" he asked the Speaker, with 
the spirit of a schoolboy making sure of his holiday. 



PITCHED BATTLES 111 

"For a week," said the Speaker; and they all with- 
drew.^ 

But the week was to be well used. The rebel went 
off immediately into Wales and was received with ac- 
clamation. The grey veterans of the Welsh Party in 
the House had shaken their heads. But the Welsh 
people knew better. They realised the value of a 
dramatic protest. 

There were others who knew better even in the 
House of Commons. Sir William Harcourt, always a 
great parliamentary leader, recognised in a moment 
that there was stuff in this new fighter. "My little 
Welsh attorney," he said to me once, "is worth the pack 
of them." 

"My audience is the country" — that was still the 
clue to all "Mr, Lloyd George's parliamentary actions. 
He and Mr. Herbert Lewis "stumped" through Wales, 
rousing the people. That week's holiday bade fair to 
cost the Government dear. 

The English people were not far behind the Welsh 
in their applause. He was now fighting a battle in 
which not Wales only but the whole country was con- 
cerned. Invitations to speak showered in from all over 
England. 

It is, indeed, from this period (1896-7) that we 
must date a very important and vital development in 
Mr. Lloyd George's career. The guerilla warfare 
which he opened in this year was carried on by him over 
the Voluntary Schools Bill of 1897 and the Tithes Bill 
of 1899. But from a "guerilla" he was gradually de- 
veloping into a leader of Parliament. Instead of his 

^ These details are based on contemporary impressions and verified 
from Hansard. 



112 THE PRIME MINISTER 

following the Front Bench, it was the Front Bench that 
began to follow him I 

For It was a moment of deplorable strife and weak- 
ness in the Liberal leadership. Lord Rosebery had re- 
signed over Armenia In 1896, and both Sir William 
Harcourt and Mr. Morley resigned over Fashoda in 
1898. The throne was constantly being vacated; and 
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who succeeded to the 
purple, seemed at that time only a "stop-gap," with 
Mr. Asqulth as the real and only successor. 

The country was weary of these personal issues; and 
they turned with refreshment to the little warrior below 
the gangway who, at any rate, seemed to care for the 
cause more than for himself. During those years it 
was he who checked the Tory ascendancy; and it was 
largely owing to his vigour and vehemence that in 
1897-8 the tide began to turn In the country and the 
by-elections began to go against the Government — a 
landslide that was only stopped by the outbreak of 
the South African War In 1899. 

In 1896—7, then, came the critical new departure in 
the career of Mr. Lloyd George. Up to 1895 he had 
seemed to be a Welsh Nationalist, pure and simple — 
that and nothing more. It looked then, indeed, as if 
he might become the Parnell of Wales — a Parnell of 
a different kind both in speech and character, but like 
him In his sole devotion to a national cause — a Parnell 
in the sense of a leader of a national revolt. 

Mr. Lloyd George gave to Wales the opening call. 
But Wales was not ready for such a complete break 
with the old order. She was too deeply committed by 
sympathy and conviction, both political and religious, 
to the British Liberal allegiance. The feud was healed. 



PITCHED BATTLES 113 

The Welsh Party in the House flinched from electing 
the rebel as their Chairman. So they left England to 
share his services. They allowed him the freedom of a 
wider and more splendid career. They refused to 
adopt his policy of an independent Welsh Party; so 
they threw him into a larger contest.^ 

He still continued, after 1895, to push the Welsh 
National cause — he has never ceased to push it. In 
the new House his enthusiasm was directed to "Home 
Rule all Round"; but he found few supporters. 

He began more and more to merge the cause of 
Wales in the larger cause of Britain. He began to be- 
lieve that the Nonconformists of Britain were in much 
the same case as the Nonconformists of Wales. Thus 
from being a Welsh Nationalist only he became a Na- 
tionalist on a larger scale — a Nationalist of Britain. 

Wales practically gave him to England. 

*At a Welsh Party meeting on May 19th, 1899, an "independence" 
resolution moved by Mr. Lloyd George was definitely shelved. 



CHAPTER IX 

SOUTH AFRICA 

"God defend tlie right!" 

When the South African War broke out In early 
October, 1899, Mr. Lloyd George was touring in West- 
ern Canada. The mutterings of the coming storm had 
already reached him in the distant regions of the 
Rocky Mountains, and that swift political instinct of his 
had warned him of grave events. He turned In his 
tracks, abandoned his hohday, and made for home.^ 
While crossing the Atlantic he had abundant time to 
meditate on the great Issue between the South African 
Republics and the British Empire. 

By the time he arrived In England he had already 
a very strong Impression that a great wrong was being 
perpetrated. But before uttering any decisive word in 
public he made a very careful study of the many State 
Papers which set forth the case on either side In that 
momentous strife, especially the minutes of the negotia- 
tions between President Kruger and Lord Milner at 
Bloemfontein. For It has always been the habit of 
Mr. Lloyd George to study his documents in politics 
with fully as much care as a good judge preparing for 
the courts. 

We all know the conclusion he reached in regard to 

^A letter from British Columbia on September i8th, 1899, records 
his horror, and his resolution to return {Du Parcq. ii. 216). 

114 



SOUTH AFRICA 115 

the Boer War.^ He took the view, on the facts of the 
case, that the war was by no means Inevitable. He held 
strongly throughout the following years that the war 
was the result of bad statesmanship. He did not deny 
the wrongs of the Uitlanders; but he believed that the 
results of the war could have been achieved by the 
patient pursuit of peaceful diplomacy. This view has 
certainly been strengthened since those days by that 
very remarkable book. The Autobiography of Sir Wil- 
liam Butler.'^ 

Throughout the most bitter period of the contro- 
versy that followed Mr. Lloyd George always admitted 
that there were two sides to the case. He absolutely 
refused to join In the utter damnation of those Lib- 
erals, such as Mr. Asquith and Sir Edward Grey, who 
supported the war. "We take a different view of the 
facts," was his way of putting It; and perhaps this view 
explains why he refused to make the quarrel over the 
Boer War a dividing Issue within the Liberal Party. 
There were extremists on both sides who wanted to 
part company; and there were pro-Boers who even 
rejoiced when that strange creation, the Liberal League, 
came Into being. Mr. Lloyd George was not one of 
these. Sir Edward Grey on the side of the war 
Liberals, and Mr. Lloyd George on the side of the 
peace Liberals, did their utmost to prevent a perma- 
nent split; and they succeeded. When the war was 
over the two branches of the party were able to come 
together, and found that they still agreed on the main 
issues of domestic politics. 

*His first public utterance was on October 27th, just before the 
House rose. 

*Str William Butler: An Autobiography. By Lieut-General Sir 
W. F. Butler, G.C.B. (London. Constable & Co., Ltd. 1911.) 



116 THE PRIME MINISTER 

We can now see a little more clearly why it was that 
Mr. Lloyd George refused to found a separate party 
on the basis of his opposition to the Boer War. It was 
not merely his practical perception;' that the South 
African War was an issue that would pass: it was also 
that he was in no sense a "peace at any price" man. Al- 
though he found himself in the company of the pacifists, 
he never wholly belonged to that faith. He has always 
been conscious that the ultimate support of power and 
freedom must be force — force guided by right, but still 
force. ^ 

His passionate sympathy with wars of freedom is in 
itself evidence on this side. His greatest heroes abroad 
are men like Garibaldi, and at home those great Welsh 
patriots and princes who maintained the forlorn fight of 
his own little nation against Saxon and Norman — men 
like Glendwyr and Llewellyn; fighters like De Wet 
often reminded him of those indomitable Welsh gueril- 
las. He used to point to the great Norman castles 
along the coasts of North Wales and the Welsh bor- 
ders as the "block-houses" which the conquerors had 
to build to control his own people. 

Not, indeed, that he ever maintained the view that 
a little nation was a law unto itself. His support of 
the Boer cause was not due merely to his belief in little 
nations. 

Order has to be maintained in the world, and little 
nations cannot be allowed to run amuck. That was why 
his opposition to the war was mild at first and grew 
stronger as time went on. He felt that the Boers had 
made a grave mistake in issuing their Ultimatum. As 

* He made a remarkable speech before the war at Manchester, in 
January 1899, defending the use of force in cases of defence. 



SOUTH AFRICA 117 

long as the war was on our part a war of resistance 
to the Boer invasion his criticisms were restrained by 
that fact. But in his view that phase ended with the 
capture of Bloemfontein and the British claim to annex. 

From that time forward (1900) Mr. Lloyd George 
opposed the war tooth and nail. It was after that date 
that he determined to enter upon a campaign against 
the war throughout the length and breadth of Great 
Britain. Many of his parliamentary friends refused to 
join; but Mr. Lloyd George went straight on and faced 
the music In every part of the kingdom. 

Since John Bright's great fight against the Crimean 
War nothing of the kind had been seen in England. 
It is no light thing to meet the war passion full 
front. 

But none of these fears held back Mr. Lloyd George 
at this great moment. He went everywhere and faced 
hostile crowds In the very heart of the war country. 
He faced a violent mob at Glasgow; he defied Mr. 
Chamberlain's own followers at Birmingham; he nar- 
rowly escaped death In one of his own Boroughs — 
Bangor. 

Whatever men might think of his views, no one 
could deny his courage. It was no easy campaign to 
conduct. The charge of treason was always in the air. 
"Do you wish the Boers to win?" shouted a heckler 
after one of his most eloquent defences of the Dutch 
Republicans. He was silent for a moment, then he 
said, slowly and Impressively: "God defend the 
right I" 

He has often been severely criticised both then and 
since for consenting to put on a constable's coat and 
uniform In order to escape from the Town Hall at 



118 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Birmingham. An armed mob had possession of the 
hall itself. They had pinned him and his friends into 
a back room : they threatened and partly intended to 
achieve both his death and theirs. It is contended 
that he was to wait meekly for his doom. 

Such criticism is surely the very extravagance of 
blame. If an unarmed public man faced with a mob 
so organised cannot resort to a "ruse of war" to save 
both his friends and himself, then surely the bully 
will rule the world. As a matter of fact, the Chief 
Constable of Birmingham found it difficult enough to 
persuade Mr. Lloyd George to put on the uniform; 
and it was only when he had convinced him that his 
friends too were in danger that he reluctantly assented. 
But if he had actually himself asked for the uniform 
he would surely have been fully justified. 

To achieve an honourable peace — that was the 
object of his great campafgn in 1901 and 1902 ; and un- 
doubtedly he played a great part in an achievement 
which saved British South Africa. It is true he had 
beside him that brave and honest man, Sir Henry 
Campbell-Bannerman, who helped as far as it was pos- 
sible for the official chief of a party deeply divided 
by the issue. It is also fair to say that Lord Rosebery 
played a great and honourable part in the final settle- 
ment. But all the risk was taken by Mr. Lloyd George 
— at the time when every phrase and word meant 
danger. 

It is a curious fact that, when the Boers finally agreed 
to peace, Mr. Lloyd George seemed for the moment to 
lose his interest in them. He afterwards met and made 
great friends with General Botha and General Smuts; 



SOUTH AFRICA 119 

and he has since taken General Smuts into his War Cab- 
inet. But I think he had at the time a sentimental 
sympathy with General De Wet in his "no surrender" 
policy. His reason was with General Botha; but his 
heart was with the men in the Back Veldt. 

His interest did not revive until that occasion when 
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman persuaded the Cab- 
inet of 1906 to make the "clean cut" by giving self- 
government to the annexed States. Of the speech 
which "C. B." then made to the Cabinet, Mr. Lloyd 
George always afterwards spoke with a sincere and 
passionate admiration. He felt that it was the undoing 
of a great wrong. 

All through the time of the Boer War (i 899-1 902), 
Mr. Lloyd George would spend his Sundays in that 
simple little house by the side of Wandsworth Com- 
mon — 2, Routh Road. There he could escape from 
the tumult and turmoil. On those Sunday afternoons 
he would often walk over Wandsworth and Chapham 
Commons, and he would play and sing with his children 
as if no great shadow overhung the country. He was 
especially fond of singing hymns on those Sunday 
afternoons. He would always join with tremendous 
gusto; and although his voice was untrained, he was 
certainly a very hearty singer. But his greatest joy 
was when the children brought a book of Welsh hymns 
and Welsh folk-songs. He would sing these with a 
thrilling delight which made him really for the moment 
a singer of power. 

Then he would come back to discuss the situation; 
for he was never tired of discussion. He would talk 
over every detail of the war; he would follow It out 
with the greatest precision on large-scale maps. He 



120 THE PREVIE MINISTER 

developed a most uncanny military skill; and he would 
prophesy with the most remarkable astuteness the next 
move of the Generals on either side. He knew every 
battle and skirmish; and, though he had never been to 
South Africa, he seemed even to know the lie of the 
ground. He appeared to know to what spot a column 
was going to move before it got there. He had the 
same Instinctive military perception with which Botha 
himself was gifted. I remember De Wet once saying 
in conversation, "The only military training I ever had 
was the same as that of Mr. Lloyd George — parlia- 
mentary tactics." May it not be that there is some 
intimate relation between the tactics of Parliament and 
the battle-field? Cromwell was a Member of Parlia- 
ment before he was a soldier; is it not possible that, if 
opportunity had afforded, Mr. Lloyd George might 
have become a successful leader of armies? ^ 

One afternoon especially comes back to my mind — 
a hot summer afternoon when we sat in the garden of 
the Wandsworth house and listened to Miss Emily 
Hobhouse as she read to us her diary of her life in the 
concentration camps. She had come hot-foot from 
South Africa with these bare daily records of her expe- 
riences; and her idea was to work them up Into a book. 
Mr. Lloyd George gave an instant opinion : "No, pub- 
lish it as it stands!" was his pronouncement; and so 
the diary was published with its fearful record of daily 
horror. Simultaneously with Its publication Mr. Lloyd 
George arranged to move the adjournment of the 
House of Commons, and the double event blew up the 
whole policy of the concentration camps. 

^ See the article by Mr. Herbert Sidebotham in The Atlantic Month- 
ly for November 1919, in which he discusses the question. 



SOUTH AFRICA 121 

Thus did he ultimately redeem the British name 
from the charge of barbarism. 

In the midst of the struggle Mr. Lloyd George de- 
termined that he must have a London daily newspaper 
on his side. Committees had been formed and sub- 
scription lists started, but little progress had been made. 
At last he concluded that this was not a case for found- 
ing a new journal. What was wanted was to buy up 
an established Liberal paper. A whisper of trouble In 
the Daily News office gave the compass-bearings for 
this venture. Imperialism was not suiting the Daily 
News readers; the proprietors were willing to sell. 
But a hundred thousand pounds were wanted for the 
purchase. Mr. Lloyd George determined to raise the 
money. For once in his life he wrote two very careful 
letters^ — one to Mr. George Cadbury and the other to 
Mr. Thomasson. He placed before them the Issues 
In very clear and searching language. Those two gen- 
erous and large-hearted men replied by offering 
£25,000 each; and the battle was practically won. 

He read me those letters at the time — we were din- 
ing at Gatti's — and he read them over the coffee and 
cigars. All I can say is that the letters were fully 
worth the money they brought to his cause. 

It was not very pleasant for the "prize crew" to 
take the places of old colleagues like Sir Edward 
Cook and Mr. Saxon Mills, both of whom from their 
own point of view had honestly and patriotically main- 
tained their faith. Nor was the struggle easy for the 
new proprietors. I remember consohng Mr. George 
Cadbury by pointing out that he saved at least as many 
lives as he lost pounds sterling; and with that reflection 
that excellent man was more than satisfied. 



122 THE PRIME MINISTER 

But the personal crises through which journalists and 
proprietors had to pass during that time were dust in 
the balance compared with what Mr. Lloyd George and 
his family had to endure. His professional work in 
the City came almost entirely to a stand. His office 
was boycotted; and one day a lump of coal was thrown 
through the window. Towards the end of the war 
things got so bad that he had to contemplate breaking 
up his home. "They shan't starve me," he said to his 
wife one day, "even if I have to send you all to Cric- 
cieth and live in a garret myself." Peace happily came 
before this event; but at every turn in the struggle he 
had to look ruin in the face. His boy Richard ^ had 
such a bad time at school in London that they found it 
necessary to transfer him to Portmadoc County School 
when the facts were drawn from the reticent boy. 

Throughout these troubles he was as considerate of 
those around him as he was regardless of his own 
interests. Mr. Arthur Rhys Roberts, his partner in 
the city firm, has .always given to Mr. Lloyd George 
his devotion and loyalty; but he is the first to claim 
that Mr. Lloyd George has earned it. At the most 
critical moment of the struggle, when threatening no- 
tices were coming with every post, old clients vanishing 
like melting snow, and companies discarding their ser- 
vices, Mr. Lloyd George came to Mr. Roberts. "What 
are your views?" he said to him. "I don't mind 
smashing up my own business, but I have my qualms 
about injuring you. Tell me what I shall do to pro- 
tect you." Mr. Roberts, feeling that Mr. Lloyd 
George was risking everything, refused to claim any 

* Now (1920) Major Richard Lloyd George. Both Mr. Lloyd 
George's sons fought in the war, and both became majors. 



SOUTH AFRICA 123 

immunity; but these simple touches of consideration 
explain the devotion which Mr. Lloyd George has so 
often inspired in those who have worked for him. 

Down in his own constituency he seemed to have 
sacrificed everything. They burnt him in effigy in 
three of his Boroughs — at Criccieth, Nevin, and Pwll- 
heli. When he went to Bangor all his friends warned 
him of the grave risks he was running. But he insisted 
on speaking there in the Penrhyn Hall. The mob 
broke every window. He refused protection, and 
walked openly through the crowd out of the hall. In 
the High Street he was struck on the head with a 
bludgeon and only saved by his hat. He staggered, 
half stunned, into a cafe in the High Street, and there 
he was besieged for houi-s by a raging mob. On the 
advice of the police, he climbed out at the back of the 
house and got away in a cab that was brought round 
to him. The crowd waited until two o'clock in the 
morning in the hope of being able to "finish" him. 

All through the fearful episode Mrs. Lloyd George 
shared her husband's danger, and was stoned in her 
motor-car as she was waiting for him. 

At last he paid a visit to Nevin, his own special 
BoroOgh, where as a rule the people worshipped him. 
But there at first his only friend was a lame old shoe- 
maker. The people did not attack him, but they held 
absolutely aloof. When he held a meeting, they re- 
fused at first to come into the hall. Nothing daunted, 
he spoke quietly, and at length, on every subject under 
the sun except the Boer War. xA.s they heard him 
through the door talking about their favourite subjects 
people slowly crept In, man by man, and gradually filled 
the hall. Then, when he found himself with a good 



IM THE PRIME MINISTER 

audience In front of him, he really approached the sub- 
ject. Gently and tentatively he addressed them In their 
own Welsh language, and it is very, very difficult for a 
Welsh audience not to listen to him in that melodious 
tongue. But though they listened they showed no en- 
thusiasm; he felt that he was not moving them at all. 
Then suddenly he changed his tack. Facing them in his 
grimmest way he said to them sternly: 

"See here now — five years ago you handed me 
a strip of blue paper to give to the Speaker as 
your accredited representative. If I never again 
represent these boroughs in the House of Com- 
mons I shall at least have the satisfaction of hand- 
ing back to you that blue paper with no single 
stain of human blood upon it." 

The effect was electrical. The whole audience rose 
to their feet with a shout. He had won them back to 
his allegiance. 

It is a curious historical fact that in another great 
struggle another great Celtic orator, fighting a lone 
fight against an unjust war-passion in these islands, ut- 
tered very much the same proud boast. When Mr. 
Edmund Burke sent to the Sheriffs of the City of 
Bristol in 1777 that famous letter on the affairs of 
America he wrote: 

"If you and I find our talents not of the great 
and ruling kind, our conduct, at least, Is conform- 
able to our faculties. No man's life pays the 
forfeit of our rashness. No desolate widow 
weeps tears of blood over our ignorance." 



SOUTH AFRICA 125 

"A conscientious man would be cautious how he dealt 
in blood." Comparing the two passages, Mr. Lloyd 
George's words are a curious unconscious echo of 
Edmund Burke's — showing how, under similar stress, 
great minds will ever leap to the same expression. 

Throughout all these storms Mr. Lloyd George 
always showed that steady, clear-headed shrewdness 
which is perhaps his supreme characteristic. 

Never was this more conspicuously shown than in 
his contest with Mr. Chamberlain over the connection 
with Kynochs. Here was difficult, dangerous ground, 
wh'ere he had to tread delicately. On one occasion, in 
that attack, he was constrained to make use of some 
figures published in a newspaper. Shortly before the 
debate, he sent to his partner an urgent request that 
he should verify his figures at Somerset House. A 
clerk was sent along, and after careful checking it was 
discovered that there was an error of no mean dimen- 
sions — an excessive o In one of the statements of share- 
holdings. At the last possible moment the error was 
telephoned to him at the House of Commons. 

As Mr. Lloyd George waded his way through the 
figures In the press report, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, 
sitting on the Treasury Bench, leaned forward, waiting 
to pounce. He, too, knew of the error, and he was In- 
tending to use it for his assailant's destruction. He 
well knew the cost of one such slip in the House of 
Commons. 

But when Mr. Lloyd George came to the figure, he 
paused, and passed It by. Mr. Chamberlain leaned 
back In his seat pale to the lips, disappointed and baf- 
fled. He had met his match. 



126 THE PRIME MINISTER 

The climax in this crisis in Mr. Lloyd George's career 
came when Mr. Chamberlain, in September 1900, sud- 
denly dissolved Parliament, In the famous Khaki Elec- 
tion that followed certainly Mr. Chamberlain seemed 
as if he might look with security to one great triumph, 
and that was the final political extinction of Mr. Lloyd 
George. It was surely improbable that a constituency 
which had just burnt him in effigy would return him to 
Parliament. But if Mr. Chemberlain staked much on 
that throw it only shows that he did not know Wales. 

I happened to be with Mr. Lloyd George through 
that election. It was a very astonishing affair. When 
he first came down to Carnarvon he seemed to have 
few friends in the Boroughs. The people were sullen, 
if not hostile. Then he began talking to them in their 
own language ; and it was curious to watch, in meeting 
after meeting, all their old tribal loyalty gradually 
coming back to him. He moved from town to town, 
slowly and cautiously recapturing their affections. He 
left no stone unturned. In private he calculated his 
chances with all the close shrewdness of a business man. 
Daily he reckoned up the voting probabilities in his 
pocket-book. In public he worked indefatigably. He 
had against him a retired military officer. Colonel Piatt, 
chosen doubtless for the khaki suggestiveness of his 
title. All the feudal powers of Wales put forth a 
supreme effort to destroy their life-long terror. 

We all know how it ended. Mr. Lloyd George was 
returned to Parliament on Saturday, October 6th, 1900, 
with the largest majority he had yet achieved — 296. 
Some of the inflammable material which had been 
bought for burning him in effigy at Carnarvon was 
ictually used in the manufacture of the torches which 



SOUTH AFRICA 127 

lit up his triumphal procession. The same crowd which 
had been ready to destroy him a few months before led 
him home on the night of the poll with a pomp and 
enthusiasm fit for a king returning from his wars. A 
few months ago they had stoned him; a few weeks 
ago they were still against him : but now with Silver 
tongue he had won back their hearts, and his people 
were with him again. 

Outside his own house, Mr. Lloyd George stood up 
in his carriage and bade them sing that great anthem 
of Wales, "The Land of our Fathers." The dark- 
ness above us gave to the scene a ghostly majesty; the 
earnest, melancholy harmonies breathed an undying 
hope; the sea of resolute faces gave a sense of vast, 
indefinable strength. 1 he great hymn ended, and then 
in perfect quiet the great multitude dispersed. 

That last scene gave a clue to his hold over his 
people. At the critical moment he had recalled their 
minds from adventures abroad to the thought of their 
own dear land at home. On the very edge of aban- 
doning him they had recoiled. They had remembered 
him as their own Welsh leader; and their loyalty had 
gone back to him. 

It marked a great step in his career. For it proved 
to the whole world that he had behind him a people 
that would support him in his direst need. With such 
a support behind him a man can serenely face the 
future. 



CHAPTER X 

FOR WALES AND FOR ENGLAND 

"No poor man can afford to be ignorant; leave that to the 
rich." — Mr. Lloyd George at Hanley (1913). 

Mr. Lloyd George was not to remain idle long. 
In 1902 the Conservative wing of the Unionist com- 
bination once again asserted itself. The war was over. 
The Unionists found themselves with that great af- 
fair wound up and the whole world before them. It 
was a tempting position. They were still in supreme 
command of a Parliament which had* five years to 
run. The House of Lords was their obedient servant. 
They could practically pass what Bills they liked. It 
was almost too much strain on human nature to ex- 
pect that they should not pass some of the Bills that 
they really wanted. 

True, there had been certain promises made during 
the General Election of 1900 which were rather dif- 
ficult to explain. Various Unionist leaders had indis- 
creetly laid It down that that Election was for the war 
and the war alone. But the Government seemed con- 
tent to rely on the humane view once put forward by 
an M.P. victorious through the strength of many prom- 
ises — that promises made in the heat of an Election do 
not really count. So In 1902 they took the bit In 
their mouths and boldly brought In a Bill throwing 
the Voluntary Schools on to the rates. It was the 

128 



FOR WALES AND FOR ENGLAND 129 

very policy which had been openly declared impos- 
sible from the front Conservative bench in 1896, and it 
was known to be extremely distasteful to Mr. Chamber- 
lain. 

Mr. Lloyd George took a leading part in the par- 
liamentary opposition to this measure. He once more 
let "all out" as a guerilla fighter. There he was always 
supreme. His knowledge of the law made him extraor- 
dinarily resourceful in the invention and discovery of 
amendments; while he displayed a skill equally aston- 
ishing as an agile draftsman. Night after night he 
turned up fresh and smiling; always calm and moderate, 
serenely persuasive, and, to his enemies, distressingly 
cool. It seemed an outrage to speak of such a humane 
fighter as an obstructionist; and yet there is no doubt 
that few of the most savage of that tribe succeeded so 
well in delaying the progress of Bills. 

Now, as in 1896, he became once more the heart 
and soul of the Opposition. The Government found 
themselves compelled to accept a great many of his 
amendments, and in this way very much weakened their 
Bill. Mr. Balfour found him a shrewd and agile op- 
ponent worthy of his steel. 

This time, of course, he was not fighting alone. 
He was supported with the full power of the Front 
Opposition Bench, now ably led by Sir Henry Camp- 
bell-Bannerman with Mr. Asquith as chief lieutenant. 
But Mr. Lloyd George always contributed something 
peculiarly his own. To the heavy thunder of the 
Front Bench guns he added the fret and jar of ma- 
chine-gun fire, galling the flanks of the Government 
forces, driving them from their chosen positions, often 
annihilating their best offensives. 



130 THE PRIME MINISTER 

There is no doubt that his opposition to the Educa- 
tion Bill played an effective part in weakening Mr. Bal- 
four's Government, and considerably improved the new 
Act when it came to be applied to the schools of the 
country. 

But his real triumph came after the Bill had passed 
through Parliament. On -the main objection of prin- 
ciple to that measure he agreed with the Nonconform- 
ists of England; but he did not see eye to eye with them 
in the policy to be employed to resist the application of 
the Bill. He was never a* "Pass'ive Resister." The 
Enghsh problem, indeed, was different. The English 
Nonconformists had no certain control of the English 
County Councils. But in Wales Mr. Lloyd George had 
long ago ensured his hold over those bodies, and he 
had deftly amended the Bill so that they should have 
a decisive control -over the administration of the Act. 

He now laid before the County Councils of Wales 
a very ingenious scheme of resistance, destined to be 
far more effective than. the heroic but vain martyrdoms 
of the English Nonconformists. 

In January 1903 he issued to the people of Wales 
an Address embodying his policy.^ It was in appear- 
ance a law-abiding policy, with the careful intention of 
avoiding any element of offence to legality. It was in- 
geniously based on provisions introduced into the Bill 
in the course of the long parliamentary fight. 

It was laid down in the new Act, for instance, that 
all schools must be passed as efficiently equipped before 
they received rate-aid from the Councils. That was a 
provision already existing in regard to the Parliamen- 

* "Address to the people of Wales," January 17th, 1903. 



FOR WALES AND FOR ENGLAND 131 

tary Grant; but always more honoured In the breach 
than in the observance. 

Mr. Lloyd George proposed that this provision of 
the law should be carried out. He suggested that all 
schools should be inspected and surveyed by the County. 
Councils before rate-aid was contemplated; and that 
only those which were passed should be capable of re- 
ceiving it. Mr. Lloyd George knew enough of the con- 
dition of these schools to be sure that few would pass 
any honest scrutiny. But none could deny the reason- 
ableness of this request. "The sectarian schools," he 
said in his Address, "should be properly cleansed and 
clothed before they are allowed to associate on equal 
terms with more decently clad institutions," It seemed 
a fair and proper condition. 

That was the first stage. The second was that rate 
aid was then to be given only to those schools that 
would accept genuine public control by the Councils 
and would suspend religious tests for teachers. Other- 
wise, nothing was to be handed to the schools except 
the Parliamentary Grants. 

Meanwhile, it was characteristic of Mr. Lloyd 
George that it was part of his policy always to hold 
out the olive branch as an alternative to the sword. 
He suggested to the Councils that rate-aid should be 
given to any schools where the managers would accept 
the plan of "facilities" for sectarian teaching on co- 
lonial lines — the sects, that is to say, to teach after 
school hours. This was a plan which had always at- 
tracted him. It seemed to him to combine equity with 
the least possible Interference with education. It was 
the part of his proposals which roused least enthusiasm 
in Wales on either side. 



132 THE PRIME MINISTER 

But, though fighting fiercely, he never at any mo- 
ment gave up the hope of peace. All through the hot- 
test moments of this strife, through 1903-4-5, he kept 
the door open for a settlement. He struck up a re- 
markable friendship with that large-hearted man, Dr. 
Edwards, the Bishop of St. Asaph, ^ and largely through 
the efforts of these two there were frequent meetings 
and conferences — at Llandrindod and in London — but 
all to no effect. It always happened that just when 
peace seemed in sight the quarrel broke out afresh. 
The real fact was, of course, that the two sides never 
desired the same object or meant the same things. 

"My advice is^ — let us capture the enemy's artillery 
and turn his guns against him." That was the heart of 
Mr. Lloyd George's policy of resistance to the new Act. 
His idea was to defeat the spirit of the Act by obey- 
ing the letter. 

It was no easy task to swing Wales into line on this 
policy. Some authorities wanted to go further and 
defy the Act altogether. Some — a very few — wanted 
to carry It out. Many individuals craved for the prison 
martyrdom of the English Nonconformists. There is 
fascination as well as courage in suffering for a cause. 

But Mr. Lloyd George preached his doctrine north 
and south, east and west. In the spring of 1904 the 
triennial election for the County Councils was due. His 
advice was — to make this policy the test of those elec- 
tions. If the electors decided in his favour, well and 
good — If not, then they must bow to democratic con- 
trol and carry out the Act. At no point did he en- 
courage the idea of personal individual resistance. 

* Cousin of Sir Frank Edwards, M.P., one of the most faithful 
of the Welsh Nationalists, but himself an Anglican, 



FOR WALES AND FOR ENGLAND 133 

The elections came; ^nd the results surpassed his 
most sanguine expectations.' In every one of the twen- 
ty-eight counties the supporters of his "no rate" policy 
were returned with a strong majority. In many cases 
the supporters of the Act had been almost annihilated. 
In Carnarvonshire Itself they were reduced to a minor- 
ity of six. In Merionethshire there were fifty-two sup- 
porters of Mr. Lloyd George's policy as against three 
opponents. Even in Brecon, where the Church was at 
its strongest, thirty-nine members out of sixty were In 
favour of his policy. 

Such were the events which completely paralysed-the 
exaction of the new Voluntary Rate throughout Wales. 

The Government decided to coerce Wales. In April 
1904 they brought forward a measure called the De- 
faulting Authorities Bill, but instantly nicknamed the 
Welsh Coercion Bill. This Bill provided that, where a 
Welsh County Council refused rate aid to a Voluntary 
School, the Treasury should have the right to pay the 
money direct to the Church Schools. They were to de- 
duct It from the Parliamentary Grant, thus compelling 
the County Councils to make up out of the rates the 
loss to their own "provided" schools. 

It was an Ingenious proposal; but it reckoned with- 
out the spirit of Wales under the leadership of Mr. 
Lloyd George. 

The Bill did not pass through the House until the 
close of the Session of 1904. The "Kangaroo" Closure 
was called for by Mr. Balfour and granted by Mr. 
Lowther from the Chair. There was a scene of pas- 
sion. Once more (as in 1896) Mr. Lloyd George 
refused to leave the House. Mr. Lowther brought to 
bear that invincible good-humour of his, and Mr. As- 



184 THE PRIME MINISTER 

quith suggested another and a better way. In the re- 
sult, the whole Liberal Party, headed by Mr. Asqulth, 
accompanied Mr. Lloyd George and his Welshmen in 
a solemn exodus from the House. Such incidents were 
not likely to make Wales more conciliatory. 

In October Mr. Lloyd George definitely raised the 
flag of defiance against this Coercion Act. 

He persuaded a gathering of 600 representatives of 
Education Authorities, assembled at Cardiff, to agree 
on a refusal to surrender. 

In the memorable speech he made on this occasion he 
carried the war Into the enemy's country. He accused 
these law-makers of lawlessness on their side. He 
pointed out to them that for years the Board of Edu- 
cation had broken the law on behalf of Voluntary 
Schools. They had not enforced the efficiency imposed 
by law. "They broke the law in order not to levy a 
rate." Very well. Wales would not levy a rate until 
the law was obeyed. That was their position. He 
boldly maintained that the law was on the side of 
Wales; and thus most wisely did he avoid that perilous 
identification of his policy with the idea and habit of 
lawlessness which has needlessly injured so many good 
causes. 

He defied coercion. If the Defaulting Act were 
enforced and the rate-aid deducted from the Parlia- 
mentary Grant, he boldly advised that the Welsh Coun- 
cils should close their schools. It would be a better 
thing that the children should be brought up to rever- 
ence freedom of conscience than that they should learn 
even the three R's. Besides, they could provide build- 
ings where they could teach them that freedom of 
conscience was a greater thing even than knowledge. 



FOR WALES AND FOR ENGLAND 135 

Once more, courage won the day. It was not going 
to be an easy thing to dispute Mr. Lloyd George's 
reading of the law in those High Courts which know 
nothing of politics. Only a very few Welsh Authori- 
ties got out of hand, and, going ahead of Mr. Lloyd 
George's astute advice, rendered themselves liable to 
•prosecution.^ 

But even then the Government did not venture to 
act. They had not enough public opinion behind them. 
From 1904 to 1906 there was no moment in the his- 
tory of that divided, tempest-tossed Government when 
they could safely have entered upon a strife so perilous 
and so doubtful. So Mr. Lloyd George was left in 
Wales still unassailed and triumphant until the Gen- 
eral Election of 1906 swept away the Government and 
practically killed the Coercion Act. 

Meanwhile, during those years David Lloyd George 
had been all the time steadily adding to his reputa- 
tion as a speaker and debater both in the House of 
Commons and in the country. There, after all, we 
always come back to his supreme political weapon — 
the power of public speech. Born in those village 
debates within the bootmaker's shop and the . smithy 
at Llanystumdwy, that power had been sharpened and 
developed on the village greens and In the town halls 
of Wales, trained to finer uses on the public platforms 
of England, and quickened by the quick thrust and 
parry in parliamentary debate. It had passed through 
the fire of stern combat during the South African strug- 
gle, and now it had emerged in swift, keen sword of 
combat, at once supple and strong. 

* Carnarvonshire and Merionethshire. 



136 THE PRIME MINISTER 

That weapon he had used in all the great parliamen- 
tary fights of those years, when Mr. Balfour was car- 
rying on, like the great Arthur of old, the last great 
combat for that pleasant, serene, feudal England which 
was already so sorely wounded by the hunters. 

Feudalism seemed to win for the time. The Bills 
became Acts of Parliament — the Schools Bill, even the 
Licensing Bill. Mr. Balfour, himself a supreme mas- 
ter of the parliamentary arts, seemed to survive. But 
all the time David Lloyd George was inflicting mortal 
wounds, until at last, like the old defeated royalist 
in the Civil Wars, Mr. Arthur Balfour gracefully 
yielded his sword. He was actually the first, in that 
generous way of his, who recommended to Sir Henry 
Campbell-Bannerman that, in whatever Cabinet he 
might be called upon to form, Mr. Lloyd George must 
in any case be a Minister. 

It was in 1903 that a great diversion occurred in the 
development of this drama. Striking across the orbit 
of both the great political parties, with some of the 
strength and ruthlessness of his old Radical days, Mr. 
Joseph Chamberlain put forward his famous Tariff 
Reform proposals. 

One of the first results of that event was to divert all 
political energy for the moment from Bills to debate. 
Both in Parliament and on the platform from 1903 
to 1906 the energies of public men were mainly ab- 
sorbed in that great titanic controversy — so absorbing 
to the British mind — between Free Trade and Protec- 
tion. 

Mr. Lloyd George shared this diversion with all 
the others. He was called from progressive tasks to 
the essentially conservative business of defending the 



FOR WALES AND FOR ENGLAND 137 

existing economic order. He did it well. He proved 
himself a faithful Free Trader. But this was not 
principally and specifically his especial task. In this 
field Mr. Asquith took the lead, and Mr. Lloyd George 
was always his faithful "junior." 

But Mr. Lloyd George's defence of Free Trade soon 
began to develop a character of its own. His tactics 
gradually began to take on a note of attack. His de- 
fensive became an aggressive. 

He had recognised, from the opening of the strug- 
gle, that the strength of Mr. Chamberlain's case lay in 
his frank recognition of the grim, shameful facts that 
lay beneath the smooth surface of English life. He 
realised that Mr. Chamberlain was the first great 
statesman to recognise fearlessly the existence of that 
England which so few statesmen had yet recognised — 
the England of the poor. Mr. Chamberlain, in fact, 
had brought "Darkest England" into the political land- 
scape. 

As the campaign went on Mr. Chamberlain grew 
bolder and bolder along these lines. He contended 
that tariffs, and tariffs alone, would provide the money 
for Old Age Pensions. He hinted at even vaster boons 
which were coming to England if she would only turn 
her back on that sour and pinchbeck old lady — Free 
Trade. 

Mr. Lloyd George perceived at once the danger of 
this attack. He, at any rate, knew the "deep sighing 
of the poor." He realised the black abyss which lay 
below the surface of England's wealth. He feared the 
appeal to the hungry mouths of our neglected masses. 

From that day forward he set out to prove that 
Free Trade also could remedy poverty — aye! and 



138 THE PRIME MINISTER 

remedy it all the more easily because it brought wealth 
in its train. The great need was that that wealth 
should bear its due burden. That was to be his cure 
for the trouble. 

At that time his phrasing was large and general. 
He had not yet worked out his later plans. Earlier 
he had served on the Rothschild Pensions Committee, 
and he had thrown all his energies into that inquiry. 
He was ever studying the problems of the land. But 
he kept a mind open to details. In that year ( 1904—5 ) 
he was storing impulse and collecting knowledge, pre- 
paring for the great moment that lay ahead of him. 

That moment was now to come. 

In December 1905 Mr. Balfour resigned, and Sir 
Henry Campbell-Bannerman immediately undertook 
to form a Ministry. 

It was already clear that Mr. Lloyd George must 
be a member of the new Cabinet. Sir Henry offered 
him the Presidency of the Board of Trade, and he ac- 
cepted it. To the public the appointnient came as a 
surprise. It seemed the last post for that brilliant 
parliamentary free-lance, that gay leader of forlorn 
hopes. 

They were to find that, behind that flashing exterior, 
there was a cooler personality, well fitted for the con- 
trol of the calmer and shrewder side of our national 
life. 



CHAPTER XI 

(1905-1908) 

A MINISTER 

"If they take part in public life, the effect is never indifferent. 
They either appear like ministers of d'vine vengeance, and their 
course through the world is marked by desolation and oppression, 
by poverty and servitude, or they are the guardian angels of the 
country they inhabit, busy to avert even the most distant evil, 
and to maintain and procure peace, plenty, and the greatest of 
human blessings, liberty." — Bclingbroke in The Patriot King on 
his "Chosen Men." 

The Department which fell to the control of Mr. 
Lloyd George on the formation of the 1905 Liberal 
Administration presented no easy or simple task. The 
Board of Trade stood at a moment which comes to 
every great office of State — a moment when it may 
either increase or decrease, gather power or lose it. Its 
official name gave little clue to the distracting combina- 
tion of powers varying from complete control at one 
end to vague influence at the other. British Depart- 
ments are like wild-flowers — they grow and spread 
without plan or scheme, just as the chance caprice of 
Parliament or some fugitive Ministry may decide. It is 
often just a throw of the dice as to what new powers 
or functions may be laid upon them. 

The Board of Trade had withered under the shadow 
of the great fiscal deadlock of the previous three years 
(1903-6) . Poised between two theories of commerce, 

139 



140 THE PRIME MINISTER 

it had lingered in the "doldrums," hke a ship waiting 
for a wind. 

Thus there awaited in the pigeon-holes of the office 
a great number of untouched and unfinished projects, 
loose ends of legislation, belated steps towards giving 
method and authority to the powers of that great 
Department. 

For the Board of Trade reflected in every branch 
of its administrative powers the spirit of the age in 
which it had grown up — the timid, tentative, apologetic 
touch of the nineteenth-century administrator. The 
scope of Its powers, Indeed, bulked vast and tremen- 
dous — extending from bankrupt firms at one end to 
shipping, railways, and labour at the other; but over 
all these branches of national life Its sway was mild 
and illusive. The very Consuls who control our trade 
abroad were appointed and controlled by another 
Department.^ 

The Labour Department, founded In a spasm of 
progress, was still mainly advisory. British railways 
had to be supplicated rather than controlled. The 
great shipping interests had discovered new sea-ways 
through obsolete laws. 

Mr. Lloyd George soon realised the opportunity 
that lay to his hand. The time had come to give to 
the Board of Trade a new grasp and stretch of author- 
ity. New laws must be passed. But also, and even 
more Important, there must be a new spirit In the ad- 
ministration of the laws that existed. 

He did not act in a hurry. He spent his first weeks 
In a thorough study of the work of the Board. He ap- 
peared little in Parliament. He took the sensible course 

*The Foreign Office, which still (1920) appoints them. 



A MINISTER 141 

of first learning from the able officials of the Board 
the general outlines of its functions and problems. 

Then, after some months, he began to legislate; but, 
before bringing in his Bills, he developed what was then 
a new system of preparation and anticipation. 

It had been too often the custom of Ministers in 
such Departments as the Board of Trade to frame 
Bills without consulting the interests concerned. Here 
was the truly "bureaucratic" spirit of the olden days 
— to assume that the Civil Service must of necessity 
know better than the public about their own business 
— ^to enforce on great private interests measures as to 
which they had never been asked their opinions, to 
wait for the inevitable complaints and grievances until 
it was too late to remedy them without public confes- 
sions of ignorance and folly. Such methods have been 
responsible for many bad laws and for many parlia- 
mentary disasters. 

Mr. Lloyd George changed all that. Take the first 
question in which he decided to legislate — the control 
of merchant shipping. Here he found things in a very 
bad mess. The British merchant sailor was still far 
behind most British land-workers both in comfort and 
in wages. While fabulous fortunes were being made 
by shipowners, sailors were still badly fed, badly 
housed, irregularly paid, often cheated of their pay 
altogether. The result was that the more prosperous 
classes of British wage-earners were refusing to go to 
sea or leaving the sea as soon as possible. Our gigantic 
merchant fleet, the pride of the British Empire, was 
already half manned by foreign seamen, whose ignor- 
ance of the English language often put English ships 
and lives in grievous peril. 



142 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Many efforts had been made to remedy these things 
— one by Mr. Chamberlain, still remembered at the 
Board of Trade as the best administrator up to that 
time. Mr. Lloyd George proposed to carry Mr. Cham- 
berlain's efforts to completion. 

What had defeated all efforts up to the present 
moment was the powerful resistance of the shipowners 
in the House of Commons, where the rights of the 
many too often escheat to the bold and flagrant cham- 
pionship of the few. 

Mr. Lloyd George determined to call the shipowners 
together and to consult them before he introduced his 
Bill into the House. But, if he was to consult the 
shipowners, he must also consult the sailors. So he 
ended by consulting both interests outside the House; 
and this sensible method proved so successful in the 
case of shipping that it soon became his favourite 
method in preparing all his Bills, and has now been 
adopted by many Ministers as the obvious and neces- 
sary preliminary to legislation. 

In the Merchant Shipping Act of 1906, indeed, he 
carried this process a step further. Not only did he, 
by agreement, establish for the British sailor a new 
charter of rights,^ but he also effected a new load-water- 
line agreement with foreign Governments. Thereby 
he established a new precedent for international legis- 
lation. 

The working of the famous "Load-line" — so dra- 
matically secured by that fervent and determined man, 

*A fixed standard of food and ship accommodation, a certificated 
cook on board ship, a guarantee that distressed seamen should be 
looked after and abandoned seamen paid, a restriction on the scandal- 
ous practices of overloading and under-manning, and on the employ- 
ment of foreign sailors. 



A MINISTER 145 

Mr. Samuel Pllmsoll, a generation before — had un- 
doubtedly saved thousands of innocent lives. It had 
given the seamen a new guarantee of security. There 
was always the fact that a ship could not be weighted 
down below a certain depth. But meanwhile a new 
evil had arisen. Foreign ships, without the British 
"Load-line," were using British ports to snatch British 
trade. Deeply laden "foreigners" could afford to 
carry goods at lower freights; and Great Britain was 
penalised for her humanity. 

Mr. Lloyd George determined to stop this. He 
compromised the "Load-line" — raising it slightly for 
British ships, but enforcing this modified line on all 
ships that came to British ports. There were protests 
from foreign Powers. Mr. Lloyd George proceeded to 
negotiate. He bargained with the right of entry to 
British ports, and finally he came to an agreement with 
most of the great seafaring nations which enforced the 
new "Load-line" on all ships trading to Great Britain. 

Such was the first of the new measures which came 
from the Board of Trade under his presidency and 
passed through the House of Commons in October of 
1906. Now for the first time piloting his own meas- 
ures from the Treasury Bench, Mr. Lloyd George 
showed new parliamentary powers that astonished the 
critics. The wiseacres had shaken their heads. "Too 
much of a rebel to govern !" they had said. "So accus- 
tomed to obstruction, that he will obstruct himself!" 
said others, scoflUng. But they were wrong. He de- 
veloped new powers of adroit persuasiveness that sur- 
prised lookers-on. He was patient and conciliatory. 
He could be firm when necessary; but at other times 
he seemed all open-mindedness. He had won his way 



144 THE PRIME MINISTER 

very often just when every one else thought that he had 
lost it. He knew when to sacrifice details in order to 
win principles. 

Now that the Board of Trade found that they had 
secured a good law-maker, the progressive officials 
who distinguish that Department pressed on him other 
tasks. There was, for instance, the question of the 
law of patents, crying for consolidation and amend- 
ment. There, too, legislation was long overdue. 

Consolidation was easy. But, in looking into the 
state of the law, Mr. Lloyd George soon discovered 
that there was one glaring British grievance which no 
Minister had yet dared to touch. Mr. Lloyd George 
refused to be paralysed by the terrorism of the Protec- 
tion controversy. He has never admitted the view that 
Free Trade means discrimination against your own 
country. 

And yet that was how the existing patent law 
worked. 

For he found that a custom had grown up by which 
foreign firms would employ a British citizen to take 
out a British patent with the deliberate intention to 
work it abroad. In that case it could not be worked 
in Great Britain. For there was actually nothing in 
British law to prevent this British privilege from be- 
coming a direct cause of loss to British trade. 

This seemed to him intolerable. Accordingly, he 
introduced into the Patents Bill which he brought into 
the House in 1907 the following clause:^ 

"At any time, not less than four years after 
the date of a patent, and not less than one year 

* Clause 27, Patents Act of 1907. 



A MINISTER 145 

after the passing of this Act, any person may ap- 
ply to the Comptroller for the revocation of the 
patent on the ground that the patented article or 
process Is manufactured or carried on exclusively 
or mainly outside the United Kingdom." 

Looking back on this clause now, with all the excel- 
lent results that have flowed from it,^ it is clear that 
it represented the merest justice to the British trader. 
The Tariff Reformers congratulated Mr. Lloyd George 
on conversion; the Free Traders reproached him for 
desertion. Neither had any leg to stand on. The 
mere fact of granting patents is, in a sense, a form of 
protection for the patentee. But to ask that a nation 
should grant so great a privilege in order that it should 
be used against its own citizens is surely the very 
ecstasy of "freedom." 

Then, just before leaving the Board of Trade, he 
finally settled up the Port of London by buying out 
the Dock Companies. There again he arranged the 
terms of purchase by bargaining before he brought in 
his Bill. 

One company stood out. He went straight on with- 
out that company. It was awkward ; but it would have 
been fatal to show weakness. He was just about to 
move the Second Reading of the Bill, leaving that com- 
pany out, when the announcement of its agreement to 
his terms was brought to him in his room at the House 
of Commons before he went in to the Committee. 
Thus a problem was settled which had defied several 
Governments and paralysed London as a port. 

^ Many patents are now being worked in England which were 
previously worked abroad. 



146 THE PRIME MINISTER 

"Not an ideal way of legislating," it will be said. 
Certainly not. Nor was then our Parliament an ideal 
legislative machine. 

In a speech made at Liverpool on May 24th, 1906, 
Mr. Lloyd George described how the menace of the 
Lords then threw its shadow over a41 Liberal policy. 
He told how. in framing evei-y Bill, the Cabinet, even 
before the Bill was drafted, had to take the attitude 
of the Upper Chamber into consideration. 

This was, in fact, still his own governing considera- 
tion in these Board of Trade measures. He was soon 
to show that he was quite ready to fight the Lords 
when it seemed to him a necessary stroke of high policy. 
But he did not believe in half-defiances. So he mod- 
elled* these Board of Trade Bills to pass by agree- 
ment. 

But, after all, it was not in law-making* so much as 
in administration that he was destined to make his 
highest reputation at the Board of Trade. It was 
not only that he sent into every tentacle of the great 
organism a new vigour and intensity of purpose; it 
was also that he showed in a very high degree a 
genius for conciliation in great labour disputes. 

It was in the late autumn of 1907 that there came to 
him the great test of the threatened Railway Strike. 
He had just achieved in October a very surprising 
triumph of peace-making at the Welsh Convention sum- 
moned at Cardiff to denounce him for some supposed 
weakening on Welsh Disestablishment. They were 
just preparing to sacrifice him with his own borrowed 
weapons when he appeared in the midst of them, 
claimed to speak, and won them over to spare him. 



A MINISTER 147 

But all Englishmen always took it for granted that 
Mr. Lloyd George could manage Welshmen. English 
railwaymen and English railway directors seemed a 
very different affair. F'or both parties seemed very 
resolute; and the powers of the Board of Trade seemed 
remarkably weak. 

But the crisis was too grave to consider legal powers. 
The country was faced with a paralysis of transport. 
Such an event might prove a national danger. 

Mr. Lloyd George swiftly acted for the nation. 
With no power to enforce his summons, he boldly 
called directors and men to the Board of Trade to 
discuss the situation. There he held them for days, 
prolonging the discussion by every resource of per- 
suasion until the moods of both parties were cooled to 
a more reasonable temperature. Then he made his 
proposal — the famous Conciliation Boards — and he 
won both parties to agreement. 

Those who, like myself, saw much of him from day 
to day during that struggle could not but be amazed 
at his resourcefulness and persistence. He appeared 
never to contemplate the possibility of a breakdown. 
He seemed one of that rare band of whom the Roman 
poet said — "They can because they think they can." 
It was impossible to dream of failure in his presence. 
Infected by his magic faith, weak men grew strong 
and sceptics radiated with faith. He appeared one 
of those of whom, in a famous poem, a great English 
singer has said ^ — 

"Languor is not in your heart, 
Weakness is not in your word, 

* Matthew Arnold in "Rugby Chapel." 



148 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Weariness not on your brow. 

Ye alight in our van ! at your voice, 

Panic, despair, flee away." 

Here was a tangle of time-worn hatreds: the men 
were suspicious and resentful, the directors dogged and 
prejudiced. How bring together human beings so 
divided? How bridge such a gulf? 

Well, first he brought into the conferences those men 
who stood between the quarrelling parties — the railway 
managers. Here he found a remarkable body of Eng- 
lishmen — alert, resourceful, self-made, unprejudiced. 

How often he used to praise those railway man- 
agers! Ten years after, in a still greater emergency, 
his mind went back to those men; and in the gravest 
crisis of the Great War he called them in to aid the 
hard-pressed British lines in France. 

What is it that has made Mr. LloydfGeorge so great 
a conciliator? 

It is not merely his power of using speech for pur- 
poses of persuasion. "Speakers attack too much," he 
often used to say. "They ought to aim at persuasion." 
That has always been his own central aim in the use 
of speech. 

There is also in him an even greater power — the 
power of making two conflicting parties see one an- 
other's point of view. That is partly because they 
learn to see it through his eyes. It is like some arrange- 
ment of looking-glasses in which men see one another's 
faces at a new and more attractive angle. There, 
again, he works on a theory. "Men quarrel too much," 



A MINISTER 149 

I have heard him say. "They become slaves to words 
and phrases. They miss the reality." 

It was such beliefs and perceptions that have so 
often made him persevere in peace-making when all 
others have given up hope. 

In this case of the Railway Strike of 1907 it earned 
him the universal applause of the nation, voiced by 
King Edward, who always entertained a keen and 
subtle admiration for good peacemaking. For a few 
brief months Mr. Lloyd George was the hero of the 
nation. He seemed almost a case for the warning — 
"Beware when all men speak well of thee!" 

But in the career of this man of storm it is always 
fated that no peaceful interval lasts long. On Novem- 
ber 6th he settled the railway strike; on November 
30th he lost his eldest daughter Mair, the apple of 
his eye. While still bowed with that bitter grief, in 
December he was called to stop a threatened strike in 
the cotton trade. He is wont to say that it was the 
only thing that saved him. But there was clearly to 
be no peace for him. 

Then, four months later, in April 1908, Sir Henry 
Campbell-Bannerman, broken by work and domestic 
sorrow, resigned the Premiership, and Mr. Asquith 
stepped into his place. Mr. John (now Lord) Morley 
was offered the Chancellorship of the Exchequer, but 
he refused it, and that high post was now allotted to 
Mr. Lloyd George. 



CHAPTER XII 

A GERMAN TOUR 

"In small, truckling States, a timely compromise with power has 
often been the means, and the only means, of drawling out their 
puny existence: but a great State is too much envied, too much 
dreaded to find safety in humiliation. ' To be secure, it must be 
respected. Power, and eminence, and consideration, are things 
not to be begged. They must be commanded." — Edmund Burke, 
Letter I on A Regicide Peace. 

In the late summer of 1908, at the end of the parlia- 
mentary session, Mr, Lloyd George traversed Germany 
from west to east and from south to north. It was 
a very thorough and systematic motor-tour. He was 
the traveUing guest of Mr, (now Sir) Charles Henry/ 
a Member of Parliament of great public spirit and, 
strong Liberal views, who invited me also to accom- 
pany the party. It was a journey of profound interest 
for us all. The object of the tour was to investigate 
the German system of National Insurance. Parlia- 
ment had just passed the Old Age Pensions Act; and 
Mr. Lloyd George had already publicly promised to 
round off the British pension system by a general 
scheme of national insurance. Before drafting the 
actual Bills he wished to make a complete study of 
that very comprehensive system which had been operat- 
ing in Germany since 1893. The German Government 
gave us access to all their Central State Insurance 
Offices, and gave us facilities for interviewing all their 

*Died January, 1920. 
150 



A GERMAN TOUR 151 

leading Insurance civil servants. We visited most of 
the largest towns of the German Empire, and had con- 
versations with employers and workmen — ^Socialists 
and trade unionists^ — as well as with officials. Never 
was a statesman's holiday spent in a more thorough in- 
vestigation of a great problem of the lives of the 
people. 

We started the motor tour in France. We trained 
to Amiens, where the motor met us, and travelled on 
the great northern French national roads through the 
very region where so much of the fighting has taken 
place during the last three years — through Compiegne, 
Soissons, along the valley of the Aisne to Rheims, 
where we visited the Cathedral — that great master- 
piece of Gothic architecture which has since suffered 
such sacrilegious injury. Thence we travelled south 
by Chalons-sur-Marne, following the river valley by 
Vitry and Bar-le-Duc. We crossed the Meuse and 
passed through Nancy, that most lovely of valley fron- 
tier towns, which has since so bravely borne such fierce 
enemy attacks. Nancy looked very peaceful on that 
August day when we passed through her pretty streets 
and pressed on towards the Vosges Mountains, hoping 
to reach Strassburg that evening. 

At that point we made a happy miscalculation in 
our time; and we were benighted in a little French 
village Just on the edge of the frontier at the very 
summit of the Vosges. We found that we could get 
supper and beds at one of those clean little ^auherges 
which are scarcely ever lacking in the smallest French 
village. As we supped' on the excellent meal of bouillon 
and cutlets improvised by the ready hostess, she stood 
and talked to us. She spoke to us of the memories of 



152 THE PRIME MINISTER 

1870-71, when the tide of war had so swiftly passed 
by that little village. She was a school child at that 
time, and she had missed two years of her schooling. 
For the Germans had remained in occupation of that 
part of the country on the Vosges frontier for fully 
a year after the end of the war. The withdrawal of 
the army took place, Department by Department, as 
the indemnity was paid; and this Department was the 
last to be evacuated. Before the war she was living 
well within France; at the end she found herself on 
the edge of the new frontier. 

We asked her how she managed to make an inn pay 
at such a spot. "Oh, quite easily," she said. "We are 
kept going by the people of French birth who come 
up on Sundays from Alsace!" "Why?" "Oh, just 
to feel the joy of living for a day on French soil!" 

Next day we motored down to Strassburg, climbed 
the towers, and saw the marks of the German shells 
fired nearly forty years before, and spent a pleasant 
afternoon in the picturesque streets of that ancient 
town. As far as man could do it Alsace had been 
painted black, white and red with Teuton colours. No- 
where in the streets of Strassburg did we observe any 
sign or notice in any language but German. Every- 
where were German soldiers, and in the evening we 
attended a concert of massed German bands at which 
'the music was purely Teuton, and Teuton of the most 
patriotic kind. But the people seemed to us to listen 
with a certain strange dull indifference to all this brazen 
wooing; and beneath the surface we seemed to hear the 
whisper of a coming storm. Next day, motoring across 
the country, we had occasion to ask the way from 
an Alsatian peasant. The question was asked in Ger- 



A GERMAN TOUR 163 

man, but one of the party slipped in with French. The 
peasant's face instantly lighted up. "Ah! do the gen- 
tlemen speak in French?" he said. "Ah! I prefer to 
speak in that language myself." So little had all the 
arts of suppression succeeded in crushing the spirit 
of that race. 

At Stuttgart we were witnesses of a strange event, 
which comes now back to memory with a significance 
which was then hidden. Count Zeppelin was then ex- 
perimenting with his airships, and one of those new 
miracles had been advertised to start on a voyage from 
a spot near Stuttgart. The whole town had flooded 
out in a vast multitude to see the airship make a start; 
but at the critical moment there arose a hurricane of 
wind. The ship was torn from Its moorings and fell 
in utter wreckage and confusion in the midst of the 
crowd. We arrived on the scene just after this had 
happened, and met the people returning from witness- 
ing the disaster. What was notable about that multi- 
tude was the passion of grief which at that moment was 
sweeping over them. It was as if they had all suffered 
some acute personal loss. Men and women were ges- 
ticulating, some were almost weeping; all their faces 
were troubled and perplexed. As the people coming 
from the city met those returning we could hear excla- 
mations of sorrow and almost of anguish. "Ah!" 
they cried, "is the airship down? What a horrible 
calamity!" We heard afterwards that the crowd sur- 
rounding the airship had just sung that famous na- 
tional hymn, "Deutschland iiber alles." They had 
been worked up to ecstasy when the airship crashed. 

So we motored through that land in that happy 
peace time, little foreboding all the great calamities 



154 THE PRIME MINISTER 

that were to break from that storm-centre on to an 
unsuspecting world. 

Bethmann-HoUweg was at that time "Home Secre- 
tary," a vigorous, amiable Minister of the official kind, 
sincerely keen on social reforms; a Junker of the better 
type. He treated Mr. Lloyd George with great 
courtesy! He returned from his holiday, and specially 
entertained him and his party in the famous restau- 
rant at the Zoological Gardens at Berlin. He invited 
many eminent members of the German Civil Service 
to meet us. Every one was very gracious and polite 
— almost too polite for comfort. After dinner we went 
into a large reception-room, and there we remained 
standing all the evening talking and looking at one 
another. Towards the end of the evening we began 
to feel very fatigued. I ventured to ask one of the 
German officials whether it would be the correct thing 
to sit down. "Oh!" he said. "We have all been wait- 
ing for you to sit down! We, too, are very tired!" 

In the middle of this rivalry in fatigue, they brought 
round great glasses of foaming beer in Prussian 
fashion. Mr. Lloyd George, who is almost a teeto- 
taler, looked at the glasses with a scared expression. 
Then suddenly his face grew resolute. "We must 
show that Great Britain is not to be left behind!" 

Bethmann-HoUweg did not talk politics until to- 
wards the end of dinner. The conversation drifted 
to King Edward's visit to the Russian Czar at Reval. 
That visit had caused a great ferment in Germany, and 
grave suspicions of British intentions. Bethmann- 
HoUweg voiced those suspicions in the frankest man- 
ner. "You are trying to encircle us !" he cried to Mr. 



A GERMAN TOUR 155 

Lloyd George. "You and France and Russia are 
attempting to strangle us !" 

Mr. Lloyd George assured him of the friendliness 
of Great Britain towards all the great Powers; but 
for the moment he refused to be appeased. He 
thumped the table with his hand. "The Prussian Gov- 
ernment has only to lift a finger," he cried, "and every 
living Prussian will die for the Fatherland!" 

Mr. Lloyd George listened to all this with his char- 
acteristic calmness and good-humour. "But what about 
the other Germans?" he put in at this point. 

A shadow passed over the face of the Prussian 
Minister. 

"Oh! they?" he said with a gesture. "They, too, 
will come along!" 

But this was only a flash. On the whole, Bethmann- 
HoUweg was very friendly; and the facts of his family 
life showed him Anglophile. He had sent his son to 
an Enghsh University; and admiration for English 
education was, curiously enough, just at that moment 
almost as much a fashion in Germany as admiration for 
German education in England. When we were lunch- 
ing with a judge at Frankfort Mr. Lloyd George dis- 
covered that the daughter of the house had actually 
been at school along with his own daughter at the 
famous English girls' school near Brighton — Roedean. 

Of course, it is always foolish to imagine that social 
courtesies seriously affect the grave pursuit of national 
interests in any country. But they produce a friendly 
atmosphere; and he would be a criminal who, with 
all the causes of difference and conflict in the world, 
did not always try to improve the human atmos- 
phere. 



166 THE PRIME MINISTER 

The people of Hamburg were remarkably friendly 
to us. The merchants trading with England gave us 
an especially enthusiastic reception. They feasted us 
at a banquet at which sat the Hamburg Prussian Min- 
ister — for Berlin keeps a Ministry in the "Free 
Towns" as a last relic of their former independence. 

It was on the occasion of that banquet that Mr. 
Lloyd George threw out the idea of regulating arma- 
ments by a Plimsoll "Load-line" fixed according to 
population. It is strange to-day to remember with 
what enthusiasm that suggestion was received by the 
Hamburg merchants. 

The authorities of Hamburg provided a launch to 
take us into every corner of their famous port, so as 
to show us all the power and pride of their new 
creation — with all its marvellous up-to-date devices 
for handling ships and cargoes, its wonderful new docks 
and elevators, its ingenious and multifarious resources 
for expediting sea-traffic. It was good to see that 
port; if only to realise the wisdom of the King's advice 
to us at home — "Wake up, Britain!" 

It is difficult to exaggerate the part played by the 
personality of the Kaiser in German imperial politics 
at that moment. If one probed any great German 
question to the bottom, one always came back to that 
fact. Take the question of the Navy — that vital 
Anglo-German problem of the early century. The 
Army chiefs were, I think, quite ready to contemplate 
a naval "deal," if only to keep England out of the 
land-wars of the Continent. The Social Democrats, of 
course, were more than willing; they were anti-naval 
as well as anti-mihtarist. But to the Kaiser the Navy 



(k GERMAN TOUR 167 

was always prime favourite ; it was his toy, his darling 
dream, his cherished ambition. His sincerest belief 
and hopes were expressed in the phrase, "Our future 
lies on the ocean." He stimulated the popular zeal 
for the Navy in every possible way. The Nord 
Deutsche Lloyd Liners had elaborate pictures com- 
paring the respective navies, and showing the smallness 
of the German in comparison with ours; the great Ger- 
man Navy League was constantly pushed forward; and 
no Mmister could long remain in power who did not 
sympathise with this cult. The curious thing was that 
the German populations along the sea-board were not 
half so enthusiastic for the Navy as the inland popula- 
tions, who seemed enthusiastic in proportion to their 
ignorance of the sea. 

Many Germans used to put down the Kaiser's pas- 
sion for the Navy to his English blood. He was a 
very enthusiastic yachtsman; and, a5 most yachtsmen 
are Englishmen, that threw him into constant relations 
of intimacy with English sailor-men. The English 
yachtsmen on the North Sea found him almost excessive 
in his friendliness. I remember an instance given to 
me by a famous EngHsh yachtsman, fond of cruising 
in northern waters. A German torpedo-boat had acci- 
dentally one evening broken the bowsprit of his yacht. 
During the night, while the owner was asleep, a body 
of carpenters came on board of the English yacht and 
mended the bowsprit. In the morning, after break- 
fast, the Kaiser arrived himself. He had sent the car- 
penters. "Well!" he said, "how do you like your new 
bowsprit?" Then he looked at It whimsically. "When 
you go back to England," he said, "tell them it was 
'made in Germany' !" 



158 THE PRIME MINISTER 

And yet at that very time this friendliness towards 
EngHsh yachtsmen — of which this was only one ex- 
ample — was not preventing the Kaiser from regarding 
the British naval power with a haunting jealousy that 
led him into the constant intrigues against England, of 
which we gain a glimpse in the secret correspondence 
discovered in the palace of the Russian Czar. 

The Kaiser, indeed, was at that time always a great 
trouble to all the diplomats. He was like a perpetual 
cracker explosively zig-zagging about in all the Foreign 
Offices of Europe, Nobody ever knew what he would 
do or say — to whom he would talk, and with whom he 
would correspond. He had a touch of freakish irre- 
sponsibility. "I always knew that Willy would come 
to no good," sighed an English Princess of the old 
school; and she seemed to have an eye for character. 
After Agadir, he calmly protested that the British 
Government had no right to object, as he had told some 
one of his intentions when he was visiting the British 
Court! His telegram to President Wilson seems to 
show that he carried this view of the British Con- 
stitution right up to the eve of the Great War. 

"He is a bad neighbour," said an official of the 
British Foreign Office at that time; and that really 
seemed to sum it up. 

His constant changes of mood made German foreign 
policy very difficult to forecast, and I do not think that 
any one can claim to have foreseen the future. 

The German officials told me that they had never 
had a visitor with a quicker mind than Mr. Lloyd 
George. After a long day spent in the Central In- 
surance Office at Berlin, the men who went round with 



A GERMAN TOUR 159 

us were very enthusiastic. *'He grasps the system more 
rapidly than any student we have ever had." Mr. 
Lloyd George, indeed, made a very exhaustive study 
of the German system. But in his Act he improved 
upon it and added to it in many important respects.^ 

It was a strange visit, curious to look back upon at 
this distance of time. Our days were filled with the 
insistent calls of a great social inquiry. But we could 
not ignore another aspect. After all, there was a 
greater problem darkening the air than insurance 
against individual sickness and unemployment. What 
about insurance against another and greater human 
sickness — ^the sickness of war? The thought of that 
kept recurring, like a secondary theme in some piece of 
music. 

The impressions gained during this tour (1908) 
partly account, no doubt, for the firmness of Mr. Lloyd 
George's language in that famous City speech with 
which, after consultation with Sir Edward Grey, he 
faced the German Agadir threat in 191 1. He himself 
always contended at the time that that speech saved 
Europe from war. A firm, clear, real attitude — an 
attitude that would convince Germany that we meant 
what we said — that is what he always in those days 
advocated. He argued that here was the most positive 
realistic Power In the world — with no regard for sen- 
tlmentallsm or even humanity where the Interests of 
Germany were concerned. Very well ; let us treat them 
as they treated us. Let them know definitely where we 

^ He raised the level of the sick benefit ; he added several new 
benefits; and he paid the doctors better. 



160 THE PRIME MINISTER 

stood. Let our language to them be plain and frank. 
They would respect us all the more for it. 

He was very fiercely attacked for this speech by the 
pacifists at the time, both in public and private. He 
made a characteristic reply to their pin-pricks. "Per- 
haps it would have been better if I had not made the 
speech I There would have been war, and the Prussian 
bully would have got the thrashing he deserves!" 

Then, as since, nothing irritated and angered him 
more than the attitude of Germany to France. "It is 
simply persecution!" he used to say. "The world can- 
not be carried on along these lines!" 

So he had already a dim perception of the great issue 
which was so soon to divide the world. 

Between 1908 and 19 14 came that "Turtle Dove" 
period (19 12-19 14) during which Germany wooed us. 
Never had Germany been more friendly to Great Bri- 
tain than she was in the spring of that fatal year, 
1 9 1 4 ; never had our relations been more smooth ; never 
had her protestations of affection been more numerous. 
The change from 191 1 was almost startling. 

Perhaps it ought to have startled us more. It is so 
easy to be sages after the accomplished fact. But it is 
not often that the architects of suspicion build wisely; 
their day comes once in a while, and they rejoice exceed- 
ingly. It is, perhaps, the worst crime of Germany that 
she has strengthened that sinister creed of doubt, and 
lowered faith between man and man. 



CHAPTER XIII 

, CIVIL STRIFES 

"It gives me a serious concern to see such a Spirit of Disse.Jtion 
in the Country"; not only as it destroys Virtue and Common Sense, 
and renders us in a manner Barbarians towards one another, but 
as it perpetuates our Animosities, widens our Breaches, and 
transmits our present Passions and Prejudices to our Posterity. 
For my own Part, I am sometimes afraid that I discover the Seeds 
of a Civil War in these our Divisions; and therefore cannot but 
bewail as in their first Principles the Miseries and Calamities of 
our Children." — Addison in the Spectator, July 25th, 171 1. 

During his foreign tour in 1908 Mr. Lloyd George 
always carried with him a small pocketbook, in which 
he jotted down ideas and suggestions as they came to 
him in thought or talk. These were jottings for that 
great Budget of which he already perceived the neces- 
sity. 

For when he took over the Treasury in April 1908, 
he found British finance at the parting of the ways. 
Old Age Pensions had just been promised; a Bill was 
already drafted on non-tributory lines. He quite ap- 
proved. But no provision had been made in the Budget 
of 1908 to pay for this great social boon.^ 

Here was a great opportunity for the Tariff Reform 
cause, at that time still languishing from the staggering 
blow of 1906. It was up to Free Trade to show that 
it could meet the coming deficit. 

* Old Age Pensions were then estimated to cost £9,000,000, but 
were found to cost £13,000,000 (now (1920) £28,000,000). There 
was also the new Dreadnoughts, and so forth. The deficit for 1909 
thus amounted to £16,000,000 even in prospect. 

161 



162 THE PRIME MINISTER 

We all know how Mr. Lloyd George faced that crisis 
at the Exchequer — ^by what audacious drafts on the 
great reserves of our national wealth — by what de- 
termined levies on the luxuries of all classes. The 
Budget of 1909 is still one of the landmarks of Eng- 
lish history. Its rejection by the Lords and its final 
triumph in the first General Election of 19 10 are thrice 
told tales. 

How did Mr. Lloyd George bear himself through 
the stress of these tremendous evils? 

He did not spare himself. He bore the burden of 
the midnight sitting as well as of the day labour. He 
revolutionised the habits of the Treasury. 

He had now left his private house and come to live 
in Downing Street. His life was practically lived in 
public. It was at about this time that he instituted 
his famous habit of breakfast parties at which the 
affairs of the nation were discussed. Strenuous gath- 
erings were these, opening with merry chaff, but soon 
passing to earnest debate and discussion over coffee 
and bacon — debates always human and thrilling, en- 
livened by the swift jest and epigram of the host, 
always one of the best of talkers. But he never allowed 
these talks to drift into triviality. He always directed 
them to moulding and shaping policy. He compelled 
his guests to face vital decisions. 

Great gatherings! Where the best of the nation 
met, not with Idle gossip or silly scandal, but with high 
converse and swift, eager discourse, ever touched with 
hope and light! 

He could not have lived this strenuous life without 
some relaxation. He found it, like so many other busy 
moderns, in golf. It was shortly after the opening of 



CIVIL STRIFES 163 

the twentieth century that he took to this game, and 
found in it his physical salvation. Up to 1900 he had 
never heen robust. Often he had long periods of ill- 
health. But the steady tramps round those wonderful 
courses that now surround London made a great 
change. Golf has given him a tough physique, equal to 
resisting great strains. 

Those of us who, during 1909, worked in the 
"Budget League" to help forward this great cause saw 
something of the energy and resourcefulness which 
went to achieve the hardly won victory of the first 19 10 
General Election. 

One of our methods was to cover England with 
posters. I remember one glorious poster of an ermined 
and coroneted duke. We were very proud of it. But 
it passed through great troubles. Mr. Winston 
Churchill protested against it because it was too much 
like his cousin, the Duke of Marlborough. So we 
changed the face and darkened the colouring. The re- 
sult was that the new duke came out precisely like our* 
splendid and energetic chief, Sir Henry Norman, M.P. ! 

All this poster business was very expensive. We 
spent till we were exhausted; we swamped the Budget 
Protest League in paste. But, however much money 
we spent, we got more money. We only had to send 
across to Downing Street. Mr. Lloyd George seemed 
to have the key to the treasures of Golconda. He 
had the amazing gift of being able to persuade mil- 
lionaires to subscribe in order to be taxed. 

The Liberal Cabinet, as a whole, refused to believe 
that the Lords would throw out the Budget; and it 
was steadily set about through the summer of 1909 
that Mr. Balfour and Lord Lansdowne were in favour 



164 THE PRIME MINISTER 

of passing it. But Mr. Lloyd George persisted in be- 
lieving the contrary. "They will throw it out all 
right!" he would always say cheerfully enough; and the 
only shadow that would pass over his face would come 
when some one would half convince him to the con- 
trary. I believe that up to September there was some 
real doubt. But then the Tariff Reform League came 
into the fight; the first flush of the Budget popularity 
seemed to pass; our street-corner orators were met by 
rivals — often hired Socialists; and the "Die-hards" 
grew more powerful. The Lords determined to face 
the great risk. They threw out the Budget in Novem- 
ber; Mr. Asquith was forced to dissolve; and in 
January 19 lO came the General Election. 

The Lords nearly won. The Liberals emerged with 
a diminished majority of 124 as compared with the 
1906 majority of 354, meaning a loss of 115 seats, 
and a turn-over of 230 votes. 

For a moment this fall in the majority shook the 
constancy even of that strong Cabinet, There was 
talk of resignation. Even Mr. Lloyd George was bit- 
ten for a moment by the idea of substituting House of 
Lords Reform for the policy of the Parliament Bill. 

In a few weeks they steadied. They found that 
if they were disappointed, the other side were more 
so. The Lords had staked all; the Tariff Reformers 
had assured a win. The Opposition was as much 
"down" as the Government. 

It was fated that a tragic event should give sudden 
pause to this rending strife. Just when the first shadow 
of civil war was falling across the nation, on May 6tTi, 
19 10, King Edward died. The presence of death 
brought a calmer mood; men saw realities for a mo- 



CIVIL STRIFES 165 

ment, and shrank from the edge of the abyss. They 
were like travellers from whose path the mist sud- 
denly clears, and lo! they find themselves stumbling 
along the edge of a precipice. 

Mr, Lloyd George made a suggestion to the new 
King which was taken up and resulted in the remark- 
able conference of party leaders which lasted from 
June to November 1910. It was a pause of halcyon 
calm in the midst of storm. 

Mr. Lloyd George was a member of that conference; 
he was always among those who took a sanguine view 
of its prospects ; and he has always infinitely regretted 
its failure. He took a long view. He foresaw the 
civil perils that lay ahead of the country. He was 
ready to come to a large and comprehensive settle- 
ment. He knew that a settlement could not mean 
a victory for either side. He was ready to accept 
that view; and there were those on the other side — 
especially one, Mr. Arthur Balfour — who were large 
enough to accept it also. 

But neither of the great parties, organised for com- 
bat and victory, could be brought to the height of so 
great a treaty. The secrecy of the conference had been 
perhaps all too faithfully observed. There had been 
no "spade-work" in preparing the parties for a self- 
denying ordinance so sweeping. The "Snakes" they 
say, "committed suicide to save themselves from 
slaughter." But in this case both parties still hoped for 
life and victory. 

So, in November 19 10, the conflict was resumed; 
and in December there took place the second General 
Election — this time, by agreement between the Prime 
Minister and the King, a test Election on the Veto 



166 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Bill. The decision of January was practically {re- 
peated; and Mr. Lloyd George, again leaving his elec- 
tioneering chances in Carnarvonshire to his local 
friends, was returned by a second sweeping majority.^ 

The second Election proved too much even for the 
strength of Mr. Lloyd George. After speaking up 
In Scotland with a strong fever actually on him, he was 
struck with a touch of serious throat trouble. His 
voice was threatened. After many efforts to go on, he 
finally accepted the verdict of seclusion, and spent a 
prolonged rest in a spacious, restful mansion behind 
the Sussex downs, lent to him by Mr. (afterwards Sir 
Arthur) Markham. He grew to a genuine love of this 
peaceful life; and when he returned to the turmoil, 
it was with a certain reluctance. 

Driven back on reading as his sole diversion, he 
rambled widely through literature and read a great deal 
of history. 

But his chief occupation during these months was 
the preparation of the famous Insurance Bill of 191 1. 

All who saw much of Mr. Lloyd George at that 
time knew that that measure was inspired by nothing 
less than a profound compassion for the sick and the 
suffering — -a passion sobered by reflection, but still 
burning with an Intense fire behind all his cool and 
calculated moves. 

He was moved by a spirit best expressed In Blake's 
golden verse: 

* His majorities in the Carnarvon Boroughs have been rising on 
the whole steadily since the first election in 1890. In 1892 he de- 
feated Sir John Puleston by 196, as against 18 in 1890. In 1895 
he again defeated Mr. Nanney by 194. In 1900 he defeated Colonel 
Piatt by 296. In 1906 he won by 1,224; i" January 1910 by 1,078; 
in December by 1,208. 



CIVIL STRIFES 167 

"I will not cease from mental strife, 
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, 
Till we have built Jerusalem 

In England's green and pleasant land." 

Before drafting the Bill he took a prolonged and 
careful survey of the condition of the people: In Mr. 
Charles Booth's books, In the Poor Law Commission 
Reports, and from every possible source of the written 
and spoken word. He was appalled; and he expected 
every one else to be appalled. Carried forward by his 
own emotion, he did not perhaps realise the power of 
familiarity, the force of usage, the strength of vested 
Interest. 

He was greatly surprised and disappointed by the 
attitude of the doctors. He had always held the medi- 
cal profession in the highest admiration ^ ; and per- 
haps he expected more from them than any organised 
profession could supply. He had been so absorbed by 
conferences with the Friendly Societies that he perhaps 
did not sufficiently realise the Importance of constant 
consultations with the doctors In the preparation of his 
schemes. 

He was also sincerely surprised at the attitude 
of the well-to-do classes. He had imagined that the 
enforcement of contributions would disarm their hos- 
tility. As it was, he lost on both sides; though he 
never regretted his decision in favour of contributions. 
With all his sympathy — perhaps because of it — he 
entertained a great horror of a pauperised working- 
class. 

Here, too, he had to face a revolt of the timid with- 
in his own party, There arose In the autumn of 191 1 

^ There is a remarkable and eloquent passage on the doctor's 
work in the Limehouse speech. 



168 THE PRIME MINISTER 

the same cry for "postponement" — always the first 
step to abandonment. He resisted it steadily; pushed 
forward his Bill, this time with the help of the 
strongest closures; and in December the House of 
Lords, perhaps chastened by events, allowed the In- 
surance Act to pass into law. 

So ended the first stage of that great scheme of 
social reform with which he designed to change the 
face of England. Insurance against sickness and kin- 
dred ills was combined with an Act for insurance 
against unemployment; and for the first time in our 
history labour was backed by security. 

Then, in 19 12, amid the distractions of the growing 
crisis in Ireland, Mr. Lloyd George proceeded to 
approach the greatest of all fastnesses of privilege — 
the English Land Laws. Here was a more formidable 
enterprise than any he had yet undertaken. He had 
to carry out his own inquiries — for it had been proved 
by experience that the tenants of English land were 
in too precarious a position to venture an open dis- 
closure of their wrongs to an open Commission. He 
appointed an able Land Committee, of which Mr. (now 
Sir) Arthur Acland became the Chairman. That Com- 
mittee carried out its work with great courage and 
ability, and published two books which are still classical 
summaries of the main features of our land system, 
stated with fairness and thoroughness.^ In a series of 
great speeches, Mr. Lloyd George in 191 2 and 19 13 
announced his intention of making legislative proposals 
and carrying out the conclusions of this Committee. 

But, in the meantime, across this great endeavour, 

^ The Land. The Report of the Land Inquiry Committee, Vol. I. 
Rural, and Vol. II, Urban. (Hodder & Stoughton, 1913.) 



CIVIL STRIFES 169 

there had arisen a hue and cry which had given new 
hope to the friends of the existing order. The great 
controversy of the Marconi shares seems now very far 
away. The whole case fabricated against Mr. Lloyd 
George in those days seem very ridiculous now. The 
perspective has changed very much since one of the 
great English political parties could deliberately set 
out to ruin a political opponent on account of one act 
of carelessness.^ 

But it does not do to throw stones. Party strife is 
an ugly business at best; and he would be a bold man 
who should say that, in similar circumstances the Lib- 
eral Party would have shown a spirit very much better. 
In this matter of rushing readily to false accusations 
we have all sinned pretty deeply in our public life. 
Suspicion is the peculiar vice of democrades ; and he 
would be bold who should say that the real scandal of 
the Marconi affair — ^the scandal of accusation so 
poisoned and exaggerated as to amount to calumny 
adopted as a policy and a cause — will not occur again. 

Mr. Lloyd George suffered very much through this 
affair. For the moment it achieved its object of hold- 
ing up his whole activities in furthering his Land Cam- 
paign. But at last the fever of the assault died away, 
and men began to return to the light of common reason, 
and to see the thing in its real proportions. Then 
there succeeded in the pubHc mind a fit of remorse 
which worked in Mr. Lloyd George's favour ; and both 
in London and in Wales he was banqueted and ac- 
claimed. For, if the victims survive the rigours of the 
"ordeal by torture," then the populace applauds. 

^ It is a strange fact that nothing worse was ever distinctly charged 
against him by his worst foes, although much was insinuated. 



170 THE PRIME MINISTER 

From another campaign of the same sort at an 
earlier date (1908) Mr. Lloyd George had emerged 
victorious in the Courts with damages of £1,000, 
which enabled him to adorn his native village of Llany- 
stumdwy with a very handsome Institute, where all 
his fellow villagers can now read the newspapers and 
enjoy the advantages of a well-chosen library. So 
out of evil sometimes good proceeds. 

In 1 9 14 Mr. Lloyd George resumed the prepara- 
tions for his Land Bills. It was his intention to intro- 
duce them into the House of Commons during the 
Session of this year, thus placing them before the 
country with a view of the General Election already 
looming ahead. 

But across all these designs there came, in June and 
July 19 14, a flood of reverberating events — the Ulster 
crisis, the officers' revolt, the gun-running, first of 
Larne and then of Dublin. Like other Ministers, Mr. 
Lloyd George was absorbed in a situation which 
threatened instant civil war. 

Then once more, across the threat of civil war, came 
the even greater menace of an even vaster peril — 
world-war. 

In the tremendous crisis that followed Mr. Lloyd 
George took the middle course. He was not for war 
against Germany at all costs. On Saturday, August 
2nd, he was inchned to vote for peace; and if, neces- 
sary, to resign for peace. 

On that day — as he has told the world — the biggest 
financiers in the City,' including the Governor of the 
Bank of England, came to him, as Chancellor of the 
Exchequer, and urged that peace should be preserved, 



CIVIL STRIFES 171 

and that we should stand aside from the strifes of 
Europe. On Monday It was known that Germany had 
invaded Belgium. At once all these men swung over 
to the side of war. 

Mr. Lloyd George himself, separately and Inde- 
pendently, followed the same course. Eager as he 
had been in the past for peace, he had no hesitation 
from the moment that Germany invaded Belgium. 

We had pledged our word; and we must keep It. 

On Monday he was for war. 

He had definitely chosen his part. 



CHAPTER XIV 

A WAR MAN 

"O Statesmen, guard us, guard the eye, the soul 
Of Europe, keep our noble England whole." 

Tennyson, 

From the moment that war was declared (August 
4th, 1914), Mr. Lloyd George put aside all his doubts 
and hesitations. The perplexities of the previous week 
passed away like so many clouds from a summer sky. 
He became from that instant a war man, Intent on 
nothing but achieving victory. 

"I can understand a man opposing a war," he used 
to say, "but I cannot understand his waging a war with 
half a heart." In regard to the attitude of various 
friends in political life, he would always express a cer- 
tain whimsical tenderness for those who were entirely 
opposed to the war. "Ah," he would say, "I was in 
that position once myself, and I know how difficult it 
is!" Wholly wrong as he thought them, dangerous as 
he thought their activities to the country, he could not 
shake oiff a certain admiration for their courage. But 
the men for whom he had no tolerance were those who 
waged the war with a backward glance over their 
shoulder all the time at the lost vision of peace. That 
seemed to him a confusing and weakening attitude. 
Peace was to be achieved, of course; that must always 
be the very aim of war ; but once war began peace could 

172 



A WAR MAN 173 

only be retrieved across the gulf of war itself. That 
being the situation, he saw nothing for it but to bend 
the whole energies of the State to the sole purpose 
of conducting the war with the utmost power. 

He realised at once that Great Britain was up against 
the most terrible danger that had ever faced it in the 
whole course of its existence. He knew Germany; 
he had a thorough understanding of German efficiency. 
Especially did he grasp the full strength and power 
given to the German Government by the patriotism of 
the German people. In entering upon this mighty en- 
terprisej he approached the matter with the utmost 
gravity and seriousness. I never saw him so grave- 
minded as he was during those first months of the war. 
We rallied him one morning at breakfast for refusing 
to laugh at some jest. "The times are very serious," 
he said, and once more he seemed lost in his own 
thoughts again. He used to describe the moment when 
the Western world paused from peace to war as the 
most solemn and awful in his whole life. "We sat 
waiting for Big Ben to strike the hour wiien the ulti- 
matum expired. We all fell quite silent. As the great 
blows of the hammer sounded on the bell we seemed 
to be passing into another world." 

From the very first he took Lord Kitchener's view 
of the seriousness and probable length of the war. He 
was not a war "pessimist." He would not accept that 
phrase. "I look at the facts," he would say, "I merely 
refuse to live in dreamland." When people used to 
come to him In that bouncingly cheerful mood which 
patriots tried to cultivate in those days, he used to 
look at them gravely and say, "Have you read all the 
bulletins?" And then he would go on: "Have you 



174. THE PRIME MINISTER 

read the bulletins on both sides?" Or to another he 
would say, "Have you looked at the maps?" For he 
'* always saw the war as a whole: he grasped it in the 
East as well as in the West. It was not that he was 
. particularly disturbed by untoward incidents ; he rarely 
discussed any such incident. It was the proportions 
of the vast forces at issue which filled his mind and 
imagination. 

There were several consoling theories popular dur- 
ing the first year of the war for which he had little 
taste. There was the idea, preached In many powerful 
quarters, that German man-power would soon be ex- 
hausted. Mr. Lloyd George was an open sceptic on 
that point. It was not merely that the Germanic 
Powers had far more men than most English people 
realised at that time; it was also his fixed imaginative 
feeling that the resisting power of a country does not 
ultimately depend on numbers. It was the spirit of 
Germany that he feared — ruthless to others, merciless 
to itself. In a public speech he expressed that once 
as the "potato-bread" spirit. 

Then there was the theory that Germany would soon 
be starved into submission. There again his imagina- 
tion came to his help. "How do you know?" he would 
say. "How can you tell at what point a nation will 
cry for mercy? That does not depend upon the amount 
of food; It depends upon the spirit of the nation. His- 
tory shows that there is little limit to what some nations 
will endure before they surrender." 

The practical upshot of all this was that he could see 
no alternative to a clear and clean military victory. 
The only reason, in fact, why he combated such theories 



A WAR MAN 175 

as "attrition" and "hunger-surrender" was that he re- 
garded them as excuses unconsciously put forward to 
avoid the strain and stress necessary for that achieve- 
ment. He saw men at that period cultivating optimism 
as a means of concealing from themselves the stark 
realities. He saw others preferring short views to 
long preparations. He perceived that too many were 
seeking for any or every other means of a softer out- 
let; and yet, to his mind, the sole chance of obtaining a 
satisfactory close to the war lay along the iron road 
of victory. It was in that way that he came to regard 
the people he met as too sanguine; for that reason 
he set himself to preach a more sombre view. 

So much did this view afterwards prevail that it is 
difficult to recall now those amazingly cheerful fore- 
casts so popular during the first six months of the war. 
Public opinion soon recovered from the first shock 
of the retreat from Mons. There were even a con- 
siderable body of people who persuaded themselves to 
regard that valorous series of rear-guard actions as a 
crowning victory. When, on September 9th, 19 14, the 
Germans stopped their advance and began to retire to 
the line of the Marne, there were some who talked as 
if the war were already ended. 

This was not by any means entirely the fault of the 
public, for a strict censorship had concealed from us 
in Great Britain that gigantic defeat of the Russians 
at the end of August known now as the battle of Tan- 
nenberg. There the Russian General Samsonoff had 
been drawn on to the lakes of East Prussia by Hin- 
denburg, and a second Cannae had been achieved. A 
vast number of Russians had been killed and captured; 



176 THE PRIME MINISTER 

90,000 had been taken prisoners, and no less than 516 
guns captured.^ 

All these things were known to Mr. Lloyd George; 
and he did not possess the faculty, somewhat common 
in high places, of persuading himself that an incon- 
venient fact must necessarily be untrue. Nor was he 
so bemused by the censorship as to believe that you 
could make an unpleasant fact untrue simply by keep- 
ing it secret. He knew by the beginning of September 
that the theory of the Russian "steam-roller" must 
be set aside. He had realised already that the main 
effort would now lie with England. That was what 
gave so much sobriety to his outlook. 

As the last months of 19 14 passed by, the situation 
as a whole certainly did not improve. The Russian 
Invasion of Eastern Prussia was definitely stayed. 
There were indeed certain compensations. In Septem- 
ber the Russians seized Eastern Galicia and the Buko- 
vlna. In those months the Serbians, with heroic valour, 
three times drove back the invading Austrians from 
their little country. But it became obvious that the 
Russians, however daring in combat, lacked the gen- 
eralship required for reaping the fruits of their suc- 
cesses. At the beginning of October Germany came 
to the help of Austria, and there was a great rally of 
the Austro-German forces. The Russians were driven 
ou? of Western Galicia, and in October a large part 
of Western Poland was seized by the Germans. In 
November there was another spasmodic recovery of 
the Russians; but again in later November they were 
driven back to within forty miles of Warsaw, and the 

^ See the full account in Ludendorff's fVar Memories (vol. i. pp. 
41-72). 



A WAR MAN 177 

opening of 1915 saw Russia practically on the de- 
fensive. 

The meaning of all these events to Mr. Lloyd 
George was, that if we were to achieve victory we must 
prepare for a very great and prolonged effort; and 
he determined to set himself to the task of tuning the 
country up to the pitch of the highest endeavour. 

It must be remembered that at this time he was still 
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and therefore not directly 
concerned with war matters. All his arguments and 
interventions both in war policy and foreign policy were 
liable to be regarded, according to the prevaihng tra- 
ditions of our Cabinet rule, as trespasses from the 
straight and narrow path of direct responsibility. 

Still, he felt it his duty, as a citizen and a Minister, 
to run all the risks of personal misunderstanding that 
might arise from honest and vigorous expressions of 
his own mind. For, rightly or wrongly, he took a 
very serious view of the situation at the end of 1914- 
He felt his responsibility all the heavier for the knowl- 
edge which he possessed. The British public were look- 
ing only at the splendid achievements of our armies in 
the West. What they did not see was the heavy thun- 
dercloud in the East — the great German armies gather- 
ing themselves for a mighty, tigerish spring on to 
some of the fairest provinces of our great Eastern 

Ally. 

Here was the loss side to this account — the achieve- 
ments in the East of those German divisions which 
had been withdrawn from the advance on Paris, and 
had left their diminished armies to fall back on the 
Marne. 

Mr. Lloyd George refused to regard those defeats 



178 THE PRIME MINISTER 

of the Russian armies as inevitable. He would never 
consent to be a fatalist. He represented the vigorous 
energy of the Western man — eager and insistent to 
strive against the shocks of fortune. 

Frankly he was not content with the measures taken 
to grip the situation. He did not feel that any military 
plans were being considered adequate to face the 
perils that threatened us,. He was unhappy and dis- 
satisfied with the plans he knew of; he felt little con- 
fidence that others would be devised more fit to avert 
these perils. 

It was at this time that he first suggested day-to-day 
sittings of the War Committee for the conduct of the 
war. It was the first appearance of that proposal for 
a small War Cabinet which afterwards developed so 
stormily from the stress and travail of the war. Not 
before three years of trying the old bottles was the 
new wine to find a vessel fit for its feverish ferment. 

During the Christmas holidays Mr. Lloyd George 
carefully surveyed the situation. With the opening 
of 19 1 5 this is how he saw it. 

Russia was in danger of a blow at the heart. In 
the West the military situation had reached a dead- 
lock ^ ; and it was not yet physically possible that the 
armies at this time raised by us should drive back the 
German invader in any time that then seemed reason- 
able from the North of France and Belgium. On those 
lines the war seemed certain to last a very long time, 
though not even he at that time cast his eyes beyond 
the historic three years fixed by Lord Kitchener. He 

*See the remarkable survey of the military situation in January 
1915, contained on page 19 of the Dardanelles Commission's First 
Report (Cd. 8490). That survey confirms Mr. Lloyd George's views 
at that time. 



A WAR MAN 179 

wished, at all possible costs, to avoid a long war. 

Looking across Europe, he asked himself — Was 
there not some alternative way? Some road to a 
quicker ending of this world agony? 

He found It In the Near East, at that point where 
the Teuton power touched the Danube, and was still 
at that time held back by the heroic resistance of the 
Serbians. 

The plan that framed itself in his mind was to com- 
bine the Balkan States — ^to revive the Federation — to 
send a great British army to their help, and attack 
with these combined forces — perhaps amounting to 
1,000,000 men — the Eastern flank of the Central 
Powers. 

This great scheme must not be confused with the 
subsequent expeditions to Galllpoli and Salonika. It 
was something far larger in conception, and far more 
splendid in grasp and sweep of action. 

It was a proposal for employing the new British 
armies, before they were wearied by being set to the 
tasks that break men, for fortifying our Allies, and for 
snatching success before the watching neutrals of the 
Near East — Bulgaria, Greece, and Rumania — were di- 
vided and distracted by doubt and failure. 

It was also an essential part of his larger hope that 
such an effort would relieve the pressure on Russia 
and finally perhaps draw off the bulk of the German 
armies from the West to the help of Austria. 

In his view the plan entailed far less risk than shaped 
itself in the minds of the timid. A visit to the Western 
front had Impressed him with the feeling that this was 
not then the easiest place for a successful assault on 
the Central Powers. Here you would meet them just 



180 THE PRIME MINISTER 

at the point where they had the greatest mastery over 
their defensive. The West, it seemed to him, was the 
proper place for a persistent, concentrated, and even 
vigilant defensive. But at that time the spot for a 
more prosperous offensive had, in the view strongly 
impressed upon him by observation, to be sought else- 
where. 

His policy was to make the Western line impreg- 
nable ; but, with the forces that could be spared beyond 
that necessary effort, to prepare and execute a great 
strategical diversion along the line of the Danube, 
striking into territory inhabited by men sympathetic 
to the Western Allies, and supporting our own weaker 
Allies among the Balkan States. In this way he hoped 
to save Serbia, to prevent the German "break-through" 
to the East, and in the end to divert the great Ger- 
man hosts from their assaults on Great Britain and 
Russia. 

Such was the "Near Eastern idea" In its large scope 
and purpose. Those who held it were necessarily op- 
posed to the earlier frontal assaults in the West, 
chivalrously and splendidly undertaken before we had 
an unquestionable superiority In numbers and guns. 
Like Botha in South Africa at the later stage of the 
Boer War — like every great general when he is out- 
numbered and out-gunned — they were seeking a "way 
round." It was a very big "way round" — by Durazzo 
or Salonika — but the point is that it seemed at the 
time the only possible way round. 

We must remember that the submarine menace had 
not yet developed, that Bulgaria had not yet declared 
war, that we were still as much masters of the Medi- 
terranean as ever in our long history. Austria had not 



A WAR MAN 181 

yet stiffened her army with German troops, and Russia 
was still uninvaded. All these were governing facts 
in this great scheme. 

It was characteristic of his buoyant faith that he 
firmly believed that the appearance of a great British 
army in the Balkans would surely bring in both the 
Rumanians and the Greeks to our aid. In his view 
those nations were at the moment hypnotised by the 
fate of Belgium. 

They genuinely feared the military power and terror 
of Germany. What they wanted was a convincing 
proof of our land strength. They knew us as a naval 
power; but that was not enough for this war. Here 
was this new thing — our growing military potency. 
Very well, let us display this side of our strength to 
the world. Let us land our new armies in the Near 
East, 

Such was the large design, boldly schemed and boldly 
started, which he set before his political and military 
colleagues in the early months of 19 15. He firmly be- 
lieved that it would inspire our arms with a new force 
and vigour. It would give our young soldiers a new 
hope. It would confuse and embarrass the German 
defence. It would present them for the first time in 
this campaign with that dash of the sudden, secret, 
and unexpected which was so often their own special 
way. It would knock away the German props by 
threatening her Allies ; and it would build up new props 
for us by heartening ours. Such were the broad and 
daring ideas which underlay his thoughts. 

We know that this great scheme did not prevail at 
the time, although pale ghosts of it lingered on and 



182 THE PRIME MINISTER 

haunted the stricken fields of war. The flesh and 
substance of the plan evaporated in the atmosphere 
of doubt. Between all the Allies and the Chancelleries 
of the AUies, in the chilling alleys and by-ways 
of debate and diplomacy, this great enterprise lost "the 
name of action." It was "sicklied o'er with the pale 
cast of thought." Tradition, convention, conven- 
ience — all combined to strangle it. 

We cannot say now how it would have prospered. 
The fortunes of war are always, after all, on the 
knees of the gods. No mortal can command suc- 
cess; we can only deserve it. 

Such opportunities do not occur twice. The Near 
Eastern vision faded. The country set itself grimly 
to solve by direct methods the problem of the West. 
How heroically, how tenaciously the British race would 
set its teeth into that endeavour perhaps no one could 
then quite foresee; but, casting our minds back over 
these bloodstained years, the question cannot but again 
recur — Might there not have been a shorter road? 



CHAPTER XV 

EAST OR WEST? 

"For East is East, and West is West, 
And never the twain shall meet." 

RuDYARD Kipling. - 

It is characteristic of Mr. Lloyd George that, when 
his mind once seizes hold of an idea, he is wholly pos- 
sessed with it until either he can bring it to accom- 
plishment or he is fully convinced of its impracticability. 
It was so with regard to this great scheme of out- 
flanking the Central Powers by an attack from the 
Near East. The more he reflected upon it the more 
there seemed to lie in this plan one great chance of 
bringing a speedy decision to the war. But, for better 
or for worse, the reinforcements were now being di- 
rected to the Western Front; and the policy of the 
Western AUies was more and more concentrated on 
that sphere of offence and defence — France, from 
absorption in her immediate danger, and Great Bri- 
tain for her instinctive military preference for cam- 
paigning nearer to her sacred seas. 

Out-voted in that larger proposal, Mr. Lloyd George 
now fell back on a smaller design. The cautious di- 
plomacy of the Allies had shrunk from the large, bold 
strokes necessary for combining the Balkan States as 
an eastern wing of our offensive against the Central 

Powers; their military chiefs had hesitated to supply 

183 



184. THE PRBIE MINISTER 

the means. Never at that stage did the Governments 
of the Allies fully realise the full proportionate value 
of the Balkan States in the vast scheme of the great 
European struggle. 

But it was soon clear that, If the Western Powers 
were inclined to leave the Balkan States to themselves, 
the Central Powers had no such intention. Quite 
early in the war Mr. Lloyd George and Mr. Winston 
Churchill scented the danger of German intrigue in the 
Balkans, and the vast lure of that easy "corridor" to 
the East offered by the trans-Balkan railway system. 
In September 19 14 they induced the Foreign Office 
to send the Buxton brothers to Sofia; and the proposals 
which those delegates brought back in January 19 15 
played an important part in the negotiations of Feb- 
ruary.^ 

Some time before the end of January 19 15, indeed, 
the British Government got to know that Germany was 
already preparing a large army for the invasion of 
Serbia. Mr. Lloyd George instantly realised the 
gravity and urgency of this peril. It was largely due 
to his initiative that a note was sent to Greece and 
Rumania, urging those states to come to the assistance 
of Serbia. 

No note was sent to Bulgaria. It was already dimly 
realised that this State was being drawn into the far- 
flung net of the Central Powers. The "Prussia of the 
Balkans" presented too rich a field to be left unhar- 
vested by the needy gleaners of Germany. The 

^On Sunday, August 26th, 1917, at Athens, M. Venizelos revealed 
the details of an earlier entente between Greece and the Allies, 
planned by him before the battle of the Marne. It was frustrated 
by King Constantine. The Greek White Paper since published fully 
confirms this. 



EAST OR WEST? 185 

anxious and hard-pressed diplomats of Berlin, seeking 
eagerly for friends in a world growing more and more 
hostile, were already tapping at the doors of Sofia, 
offering golden and honeyed gifts to a State which had 
fed too long on the east wind. 

Rumours of these approaches grew so strong and 
convincing that Mr, Lloyd George was moved by them 
to take fresh action along his old lines. It was now 
no longer a question of a great offensive with a gigantic 
army on the Near Eastern flank of the enemy. Fate 
does not repeat her opportunities; and the chances of 
that great diversion were already sHpping away. It 
was now rather a question whether we should be in 
time even to save our smaller friends in the Near East 
— whether we should be able to prevent this threatened 
gigantic "sortie" of the Central Powers from the siege 
of the Entente Allies. Already, in January, Mr. 
Lloyd George saw, in that flashing way of his, all the 
tragic possibilities that might flow from a German 
"break-through" in the Balkans. Already he foresaw 
the fearful and disastrous fate of a conquered Serbia. 

With this tragedy ever clearly in his mind's eye, Mr. 
Lloyd George left no stone unturned to avert it. In 
the middle of January he succeeded in persuading his 
colleagues to offer a whole army corps to Greece on 
condition that she would agree to join us in the war. 
Lord Kitchener agreed to spare the troops, and ap- 
proved the wording of the offer. But it was necessary 
to obtain the approval of the Allies. 

France was not for the moment happy at the idea of 
sending troops to the Near East. There came from 
across the Channel a breath of acute anxiety, the 
anxiety of an invaded and ravaged country. 



186 THE PRIME MINISTER 

The result was that the official note was held back 
and somewhat modified. The military offer of help 
to Greece and Serbia began to become vaguer. The 
army corps began to become a little ghostly. We can 
see the great plan still further dwindling into shadows. 

Then, on January 26th, a new development occurred. 
M. Venizelos sent to London the Greek reply to the 
first note of the AUies, asking for help on behalf of 
Serbia. The reply was that, on certain conditions, 
Greece agreed to join in the war on the side of the 
Allies. If those conditions were fulfilled, then Greece 
— so the answer ran — was willing to give its assistance 
to Serbia, and to place the whole of its resources at the 
service of a "just and Hberal cause." 

But the chief of the conditions was that Bulgaria 
should come in as well on the Allied side. If not, then 
Rumania must come in and Bulgaria remain neutral.^ 

So far, so good. It now remained to persuade 
France. 

On February 5th there was to be held in Paris one 
of those Allied Conferences on policy and strategy 
which have been held periodically throughout the war. 

These Conferences were, indeed, orginally Mr. 
Lloyd George's own special and favourite plan for 
bringing the Allies into a better sympathy of mind and 

* These were the main points. The actual conditions were very 
complex: 

(a) That England should endeavour to bring about the 
collaboration of Bulgaria with Greece, in which case Greece 
would withdraw her opposition to Serbia ceding part of Mace- 
donia to Bulgaria. 

{b) If this condition could not be obtained, then the Powers 
should obtain the co-operation of Rumania, and the neutrality 
of Bulgaria. 

(f) If not, then Greece must be assisted by a substantial 
British contingent, or a joint British and French contingent. 



EAST OR WEST? 187 

purpose ; and he had always promoted them with zeal 
and enthusiasm, which grew with his friendship for 
M. Albert Thomas. On this occasion — February 5th, 
19 1 5 — he had been selected to go over himself to 
Paris as the British delegate. 

He proposed that M. Venizelos should come from 
Greece and meet him in Paris. But the domestic crisis 
in Greece was now passing into a stage far too acute 
for M. Venizelos to leave Athens. That eminent man 
was making his last effort to work with King Con- 
stantine. 

Mr. Lloyd George went to Paris and won his case. 
That gallant nation, anxious to help the weak, and 
threatened even in the midst of her own agony, con- 
sented to join in the expedition. The French Cabinet 
were willing to send a French division to work with 
the British division to which Lord Kitchener had 
already agreed. 

Returning to London, he informed the British mili- 
tary authorities, who in their turn offered to "go one 
better," and to spare two British divisions. 

Mr. Lloyd George was now all eager for Instant 
action. 

He urged that the new Joint Note, offering military 
aid, should be sent at once. He brushed aside for the 
moment the idea of arriving at a general Balkan agree- 
ment on the lines of the proposals brought back by 
the Buxtons from Sofia. The Bulgarian suggestion that 
Serbia should make a considerable surrender of terri- 
tory seemed to him impossible for Serbia after their 
recent struggles and sufferings. He had already a very 
deep perception that Bulgaria was hardening against 
the Entente. He saw definite evidence of it in Ger- 



188 THE PRBIE MINISTER 

many's known willingness to lend her money. It did 
not seem to him conceivable that Germany should be 
advancing money to Bulgaria without some assurance 
as to Bulgaria's action in certain contingencies. The 
Germans were not such fools. 

Besides, Rumania seemed to him now less friendly. 
All the more need, then, for prompt and energetic 
action to clinch the friendliness of our most probable 
ally, Greece. 

He felt very acutely at this moment the evil and 
harm of a dilatory policy. It was on his mind all the 
time that, if they failed to act in time to save Serbia, 
their responsibility would be a terrible one. Even 
days seemed to him to count in the great issues that 
lay before them. 

It was a great design, greatly urged. It is impos- 
sible to say now whether it would have fulfilled the 
hopes of its chief sponsor. He had won over to his 
side all the chief forces in the West. The expedition 
that was about to start would have probably forestalled 
and averted that Ill-starred enterprise of the Darda- 
nelles-Gallipoli attack which opened on February 25th. 

But just on the eve of fruition other forces inter- 
vened. While Mr. Lloyd George had been working 
in the West of Europe, the Central Powers had been 
busy in the Near East. On January 26th had come 
the conditional Greek offer to intervene in the war. 
On February 6th came their definite refusal. 

The crash came suddenly. Russia had just promised 
10,000 men towards the new Balkan enterprise. Then, 
at that moment of apparent success, M. Venizelos sud- 
denly informed the British Minister at Athens that 
Greece had decided not to join the Allies in the war. 



EAST OR WEST? 189 

The refusal was abruptly worded, and the grounds 
given were very definite. They were that Greece found 
herself unable to obtain the conditions laid down in 
the reply of January 26th. One of those conditions 
was that Bulgaria should either join Greece in declar- 
ing war, or should promise neutrality. She had re- 
fused to do either. Another condition had been that 
Rumania should join. But Rumania, still hesitating 
between the two belligerent groups, would give no de- 
cided answer. It was at that moment the fear of 
Greece that, if she sent an army northwards tio -the help 
of Serbia, then Bulgaria would move to the sout«h, 
seize Kavalla, and would strike westwards into Mace- 
donia to drive a wedge between Greece and Serbia. 
In such a case it seemed more than possible that Greece 
would be crushed. 

It is fair also to say that Bulgaria's refusal of a 
promise of neutrality was for Greece an ominous and 
formidable fact. It is inevitable that Greece should 
have been looking rather at her resentful neighbour 
than at those larger aims of European interest -which 
filled the pohcies of the Western Powers; it was nat- 
ural and human that their first and possessing fear 
should be lest the work of the war of 19 13 should be 
undone. For in that terrible war the price of victory 
had been appallingly high for so small a nation. No 
less than 30,000 Greek soldiers had been killed within 
a few days in that tremendous onslaught which had 
driven back the treacherous Bulgarian a-ttack. Greece, 
with her small supply of men, could not lightly contem- 
plate the repetition of such a sacrifice, or the loss of 
the gains which had been so fearfully purchased. 

Mr. Lloyd George did not give up hope. He knew 



190 THE PRIME MINISTER 

enough to foresee, for instance, that the new attack of 
Bulgaria was bound to come, and that the most pru- 
dent course was to forestall it. It was at this moment 
that the suggestion came from Greek sources,^ that 
Mr. Lloyd George should himself go out to the Bal- 
kans as a Commissioner to bring together the Balkan 
States. Mr. Lloyd George himself consented; and Mr. 
Asquith approved. But it was soon found that Mr. 
Lloyd George was wanted too urgently at the centre 
to be spared for distant missions. 

The Greek Government held to its refusal. The 
Greek General Staff had pronounced strongly against 
Greek military intervention as long as Bulgaria re- 
mained even neutral; and M. Venizelos had now grave 
cause to believe that Bulgaria was pledged to the 
Central Powers. He hesitated to bind himself with 
the Army and the Crown against him. 

As for the Greek King Constantine, he was already 
drifting along that fatal course which led ultimately to 
his ex'ile. It was reported to the British Government 
that he sa.w the German military Attache every day, 
while he refused to see the British Attache at all. 

Thus cut off for the moment from effective inter- 
vention on the Danube, the British Government drifted 
towards that tremendous Dardanelles enterprise ^ 
which took the place of the Serbian proposal. The first 
bombardment of the Dardanelles forts (February 25th 
to 26th) seemed to go prosperously; and at the open- 
ing of March Russia began to do well. Once more 
there was a new twist in the designs of the Greek 
Crown Government; and on March 6th the Crown 

*This suggestion actually came from Sir John Stavrldi, the Greek 
Consul-General. 

^See the Dardanelles Report passim, 1917, Cd. 8490. 



EAST OR WEST? 191 

Council assembled at Athens offered the whole Greek 
fleet and one Greek division for co-operation in the 
attack on the Dardanelles. 

But already the curt refusal of the previous overtures 
had driven the Allies to other designs; and the pro- 
Bulgarian influences in Russia were now very strong. 
Bulgaria was now astutely offering to lend her armies 
for an attack on Constantinople from the north-west 
while the fleets were hammering at the Straits. The 
old Russian Court Government, always fearful of 
Greek designs on Constantinople, leaned towards Bul- 
garia, and, now that a choice seemed possible, preferred 
Bulgarian help to Greek. 

As far as we can peer through the mists of Balkan 
intrigue, the success of the earher bombardments of 
the Dardanelles outer forts swung Bulgaria for the 
time away from her Teutonic -bearings. She was for 
the moment inclined to join the Entente, if only from 
fear of the consequences.^ Whether she had signed 
an agreement with Germany or not, does not seem to 
have troubled the statesmen at Sofia, and certainly not 
the King.2 The sanctity of a treaty would probably 
not ha-ve affected the policy of a country already 
strongly bitten with the virus of Prussia's world-poli- 
tics. Bulgaria was, in fact, during that time making 
offers to both sides; she was, in vulgar language, wait- 
ing to see "how the cat jumped." For the moment, 

*See Dardanelles Commission First Report, p. 39. "It can scarce- 
ly be doubted that, had it not been for the Dardanelles Expedition, 
Bulgaria would have joined the Central Powers at a far earlier 
date than was actually the case. Mr. Asquith was strongly of 
this opinion in the extracts quoted from his evidence. 'Yes, I am 
certain of it,' he said to the Chairman.'" (Page 40.) 

^The Greek White Book has revealed that an understandmg 
existed between Bulgaria, the Central Powers, and Turkey ever 
since August, 19 14. 



192 THE PRIME MINISTER 

therefore, she became "pro-Entente." But Immediately 
that the failure of the Dardanelles attack became ap- 
parent she swung back into the Teutonic orbit. The 
diplomatic situation was, as Lord Grey fairly claimed,^ 
"overshadowed by the military." 

Deeply disappointed with Greece, Mr. Lloyd George 
now held aloof from her overtures, and was inclined, 
for the moment, to hope something even from the Bul- 
garian alternative. During the spring and summer of 
19 1 5 the Russian campaign diverted the German re- 
sources for a while from the meditated attack on Ser- 
bia. The position along the Danube became less 
threatening. It became the German design to throw 
back Russia from Gallcia and Poland before she en- 
tered upon her great Near Eastern enterprise. The 
result was a temporary lull for Serbia. 

The British Government hoped to avail herself of 
this lull to bring together the Balkan States. Bulgaria 
assumed a willingness to join the Allies on the condition 
of certain large concessions of territory from Greece 
and Serbia. M. Venizelos even went so far as to Im- 
peril his position in Greece by suggesting consent. Mr. 
Lloyd George was now more hopeful of bringing to- 
gether the old Balkan Federation on these lines-. His 
general Idea was that the Allies should occupy the 
zone of Macedonia as disputed between Serbia and Bul- 
garia, on condition that If they could secure Bosnia and 
Herzegovina forSerbIa in the final settlementthey should 
then hand the disputed territory over to Bulgaria. 

But the sacrifices of the Serbian people In the previ- 
ous three years had been too great for the Serbian 

' Extract from his evidence in the Dardanelles Report. 



EAST OR WEST? 193 

Government to be able to bring them to agree to so 
large a concession. The Serbians were still filled with 
the glow of their triple repulse of Austria; and for the 
moment the new danger seemed to have drawn off. The 
great European thunderstorm was now echoing far 
away In the mountains of Carpathia and the plains of 
Poland. It was difficult for the Serbians to realise at 
that moment that a time would come when security 
would be cheap at a great price. 

In April there came another twist In the devious 
track of Balkan intrigue. M. Venizelos had tendered 
his first resignation, and Constantine was entering upon 
his first effort to build up an absolute monarchy in 
Athens. On April 15th the Crown Council made a sud- 
den offer to bring Greece into the war on the side of the 
Allies. The Allies gravely suspected the honesty of 
this offer. They knew that Greece was already hand 
In glove with Germany; and there were strong reasons 
to believe that the Royalist Government could not be 
entrusted with AUied secrets. In any case, the Allies 
sent no reply; and It was not until Venizelos regained 
power that they resumed friendly negotiations with the 
Greek Government. 

All through this time Mr. Lloyd George himself 
was resolute against having any dealings whatever with 
the King's party In Greece. He took the strong line 
that the Allies, as guarantors of the Greek constitu- 
tion, should refuse to negotiate with any Government 
which existed in contradiction to the elementary prin- 
ciples of democratic constitutionalism.^ 

*The treachery revealed by the Greek White Paper has since 
shown the wisdom of this attitude. King Constantine, it is now 
known, was in close and constant communication with the German 
Emperor. 



194 THE PRIME MINISTER 

At long last (19 17) this policy prevailed. That an- 
cient and historic torch-bearer of freedom, Greece, 
swung round to our side. She ended by resisting the 
despotisms of the North as she resisted the despotisms 
of the East in olden days. King Constantine went into 
exile. M. Venizelos became the ruler at Athens. He 
threw the sword of Greece into the trembhng scales of 
the great European struggle, and helped to decide the 
issue. 

The end justified the hope to which Mr. Lloyd 
George clung through the darkest hours of Royal 
Greek apostasy. 

But who shall say what might have happened if he 
had not, through the black years of 19 15 and 19 16, 
kept alive in Western Europe the flickering sparks of 
faith in Greece ? 



CHAPTER XVI 



SERBIA 



"We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died 
in vain." — Abraham Lincoln, 1863. 

Mr. Lloyd George now turned from the disap- 
pointments and tragedies of the Near East to look 
more closely into the situation at home. 

The opening of 19 15 was a season of hope in Great 
Britain. The great effort to force the Dardanelles 
filled the public mind with visions. That attempt was 
then most lyrically applauded by those who afterwards 
rushed to denounce it. The whole outlook was mag- 
ically irradiated with the mirage of that golden prom- 
ise. 

Here was a quick cure for all our troubles. 

Men dreamt of a speedy blow that would cut off 
the Central Powers from Turkey, and open to Russia 
an easy door to the West. 

They thought little at that moment, and knew less, 
of the blows which Germany was preparing for Rus- 
sia. 

The story of the Dardanelles expedition has been 
fully told.^ We all know the origin and history of 
that expedition, and can apportion with some fairness 
the proper spheres of blame and praise. Mr. Lloyd 

*In two Reports, 1917— Cd. 8490 6^ and Cmd. 371, 2^ (Part II). 
The second, dealing with the military operations, is very sensa- 
tional, and has not received enough attention. 

195 



196 THE PRIME MINISTER 

George took little active personal part in the planning 
and preparations for it, though he was a member of the 
War Council, and later in June, became a member of 
the Dardanelles Committee.^ His own proposal had 
been frustrated by events. Here was an alternative, 
hatched by other brains, inspired by other hopes. It 
was a serious thing to oppose it outright. His attitude 
from the beginning was one of suspended judgment. 

"Whatever you do, do thoroughly; if you do it at 
all, put your full strength into it" — that may be summed 
up as his constantly reiterated counsel in regard to the 
Dardanelles. 

If this advice had been adopted perhaps even that 
iU-starred enterprise might have met with better for- 
tune. 

But meanwhile, on other fields of war a situation 
was developing even more menacing to Europe as a 
whole. The great Teutonic attack on Russia began 
to develop with terrible success in the early spring; 
and Mr. Lloyd George took from the first a most seri- 
ous view of this tremendous onslaught. 

In the middle of February vast new armies of Ger- 
mans, prepared in the winter, advanced to the invasion 
of Courland, Poland, and Galicla. The Russian armies 
still in Eastern Prussia had been speedily driven back 
across the frontier in wholesale defeat; and the north- 
ern German armies began to advance on to Russian 
soil. In the centre of Eastern Europe the Germans 
advanced victoriously to within fifty miles of Warsaw 

^ The Dardanelles Committee, which took over the control of the 
war from the War Council on June yth, 1915, consisted of eleven 
members of the Coalition Government The War Council were 
all Liberals. That was superseded on November 3rd, 1915, by 
the War Committee, consisting of seven Ministers. Mr. Lloyd 
George was a member of all these Committees. 



SERBIA 197 

before they met with a serious check. In the south the 
Austrians drove the Russians from Bukovina. The 
whole German-Austrian line was advanced throughout 
the length of Europe, from the Baltic Sea to the Car- 
pathian Mountains ; and the hosts of the Central Em- 
pires were preparing for that great dramatic thrust 
which In May drove the Russians clean out of Galicia. 

Such was the situation which British statesmen had 
now to face. It was impossible to regard it with 
indifference. 

Mr. Lloyd George refused to be deceived by any 
rosy hopes either in East or West. His own view 
was that a firm grasp of reality was the first step to 
success. Unless they looked facts in the face, they 
could not grapple with them. 

He came to be regarded as the Cassandra of the 
war; but, as Lord Morley once remarked, the worst 
thing about Cassandra was that she proved to be in 
the right! 

Surveying the prospects of the great war In Europe 
as a whole, Mr. Lloyd George was seriously concerned 
about several vital matters. 

The most important of these was that, comparing 
the available military man-power on both sides In this 
great contest, the Entente AUies were at that moment 
hopelessly outnumbered. 

Germany and Austria at that moment had under 
arms or preparing to be armed — according to the 
Intelligence supplied to the Government — no less than 
8,700,000 men. Turkey had 500,000; she was soon, 
indeed, to supply a far greater number of her popula- 
tion as mercenaries to Germany, 



198 THE PRIME MINISTER 

On the other hand were France, Great Britain, Rus- 
sia, and Serbia. Italy had not yet come into the war; 
and America was still afar off. The trouble with Rus- 
sia was that, though she had such an immense popula- 
tion, she had many exemptions and few rifles. France 
was always doing her very best; but her census figures 
spoke for themselves. Great Britain was doing won- 
ders with her voluntary system. But the question now 
for the first time faced him full front — Would our 
voluntary system suffice to keep up our armies, much 
less to supply the still greater armies that might be 
required for victory? 

He still, at that moment, clung to the voluntary 
system. He thought that the necessary men could be 
still obtained by the voluntary system if it were prop- 
erly applied. His own idea at that moment was that 
the best method of obtaining these men along volun- 
tary lines was to follow the quota system. He was in 
favour of letting each county and town know clearly 
what was the proper proportion of men for them to 
supply for the national need, and then to leave the rest 
to local pressure and local patriotism. He firmly be- 
lieved that if, for instance, it was officially announced 
that a particular county ought to supply, say, 10,000 
men, and if that county had hitherto supplied 6,000, 
the remaining 4,000 would be forced to come in by 
the strength of local pride. 

That scheme was never really tried. For some rea- 
son or other, there were forces at work against the 
territorial system of recruiting ever since the begin- 
ning of the war; and thus one of the greatest springs 
of national energy remained untapped. 

It was also his opinion that at that time the Domin- 



SERBIA 199 

ions would send far larger forces of men if they were 
fully informed about the real facts of the situation, 
instead of being fed by news from agencies whose chief 
motive seemed to be to feed the popular vanity. That 
sensible pohcy was afterwards so strongly urged by 
Dominion statesmen that it was to some small extent 

adopted. 

Such were broadly Mr. Lloyd George's views and 
feelings in February, 1 9 1 5 . He was still leaning to the 
Eastern field of war and looking out anxiously for any 
chance of resuming his Eastern plan if Greece should 
become more friendly or Bulgaria repent of her Teu- 
tonic affections. But in the British scheme of war the 
plan of breaking through in the West had now resumed 
its hold on miHtary minds; and in March the new 
armies made their first great attempt in the attack 
known as the battle of Neuve Chapelle. The valour 
and heroism of our troops in that splendid effort broke 
against the tangled defences of the German hosts; 
and in April and March our armies were once more 
fighting for their bare existence in the second battle 
'of Ypres. In May came Dunajec, the smashing climax 
to the onslaught of the Germans on the Russians in 

Galicia. 

Tremendously occupied as he was through the spring 
and summer with the great national effort to supply 
our armies with adequate munitions, Mr. Lloyd George 
was never blind or indifferent to the general trend of 
what followed. . 

Events began to succeed one another with fearful 
rapidity. In May and June the Russians were cleared 
out of Galicia. Then began that great rush forward of 
the central German armies which swept over fortress 



200 THE PRIME MINISTER 

after fortress "like castles of sand," and submerged 
all the fairest towns of Western Central Russia.^ 

To these disasters there were, indeed, compensa- 
tions in other fields of war. On May 23rd Italy de- 
clared war against Austria, In July Botha conquered 
South-West Africa. In the West the British and 
French troops still held on against the overwhelming 
forces of Germany attempting to snatch the Channel 
coast with every devilish device of gas and flame. 

But, on the whole, the balance was against the Al- 
lies. The fact that stared Mr. Lloyd George in the 
face, wherever he looked at the fields of war, was 
that the Allied armies were outnumbered by the stu- 
pendous and unexpected man-power of Central Europe. 

It was this fact that led him in this autumn to give 
to the public the first intimation that he, hitherto a 
convinced voluntaryist, was now being converted, 
against his will, to compulsory military service. The 
intimation was given in the preface written to a col- 
lection of his early war speeches.^ 

In the burning words of that remarkable address 
to the nation he communicated the views which he 
had slowly formed from a close and prolonged sfudy 
of the facts throughout the summer : 

*T know what we are doing: our exertions are 
undoubtedly immense. But can we do more, 
either in men or material? Nothing but our 
best and utmost can pull us through. Are we now 

* Swallowing up Warsaw on August 4th, Ivangorod on August 
5th, Siedlce on August 12th, Kovno on August 17th, Novo-Georgievsk 
on August 19th, Brest Litovsk on August 25th, and Grodno on 
September 2nd. 

^ Through Terror to Triumph. Arranged by F. L, Stevenson, B.A 
(Lond.) (Hodder & Stoughton.) 



SERBIA 201 

straining every nerve to make up for lost time? 
Are we getting all the men we shall want to put 
into the fighting line next year to enable us even 
to hold our own? Does every man who can help, 
whether by fighting or by providing material, un- 
derstand clearly that ruin awaits remissness?" 

Then came the dramatic climax : 

"If the nation hesitates, when the need is clear, 
to take the necessary steps to call forth its man- 
hood to defend honour and existence; if vital 
decisions are postponed until too late ; if we neg- 
lect to make ready for all probable eventuali- 
ties; if, in fact, we give ground for the accusation 
that we are slouching into disaster as if we were 
walking along the ordinary paths of peace 
without an enemy in sight — then I can see no hope. 
But if we sacrifice all we own, and all we like for 
our native land; if our preparations are charac- 
terised by grip, resolution, and a prompt readi- 
ness in every sphere — then victory is assured." 

The meaning of this appeal was obvious. "To call 
forth its manhood," could only mean conscription for 
the war; and it was to that policy, indeed, that Mr. 
Lloyd George had been driven by what seemed to him 
the inevitable logic of the terrible events in the fields 
of war. In no other way, indeed, did he think that 
the effort could be sustained. 

There was no man who had thrown himself more 
vigorously into the volunteer recruiting campaign; there 
was no man who had more sincerely believed in it. His 



202 THE PRIME MINISTER 

speech to the young men. at the City Temple on No- 
vember lOth, 19 14, is a splendid expression of that 
appeal. It is still the best attempt to argue with that 
extreme pacifist spirit which he has always treated with 
respect — with that imaginative sympathy which under- 
stands while it condemns.^ 

But now he had come — reluctantly but irrevocably 
— with the terrible honesty of a man up against facts 
— to the conclusion that the voluntary system would not 
suffice against this tornado. "You cannot haggle with 
an earthquake." Here was a thing that transcended 
all theories — a convulsion of nature itself. 

Having reached this conclusion, he never veered. 
He stood by silent through all the experiments of those 
days — the "Derby scheme," the quarrel between the 
married and the single, the "starring" and "unstar- 
ring" — until slowly the whole of the Ministry swung 
round to his point of view. Assailed by old friends 
with a hurricane of abuse — maligned and misinter- 
preted by men whose season peace with venom — he 
yet held on steadily to his view. There are many 
things one has to dare and endure for country and 
fatherland. Perhaps the hardest thing of all in this 
country is to profess a change of opinion. 

"They say — let them say." He paid little attention 
to these assaults. More terrible things were absorb- 
ing his attention. 

The failure of the purely naval attack on the Dar- 
danelles on March i8th (1915) had been followed by 
the military preparations and landing on April 25th, 

^ "To precipitate ideals is to retard their advent. . . . The surest 
method of establishing the reign of peace on earth is by making the 
way of the transgressor of the peace of nations too hard for the 
rulers of men to tread." 



SERBIA 203 

and the subsequent great military offensive on the 
heights of Gallipoli. By the end of July that offensive 
had failed. At this point in^the development of events 
— at the end of July — Mr. Lloyd George now definitely 
again urged on his colleagues in the Government to 
consider once more the plan of going to the assistance 
of Serbia as alternative to going further forward with 
the Gallipoli attack. At this time he was very busy 
with his munition campaign in the country. But on the 
few occasions when he was able to take part in the 
deliberations of the Dardanelles Committee his atti- 
tude always was — the Germans are going to break 
through Serbia as soon as they can; so either make 
certain of getting to Constantinople quickly, or con- 
sider whether you ought not to go to the assistance 
of Serbia with all the strength you can command. The 
forces on Gallipoli were obviously the nearest avail- 
able for such a rescue. The alternative adopted of a 
renewed attack on Gallipoli by way of Suvla Bay in 
August only resulted in a more tragic and wasteful 
failure. 

His forebodings in regard to Serbia were destined 
to be very quickly fulfilled, for in October (19 15) 
began that dastardly combined attack on Serbia which 
Mr. Lloyd George had foreseen since the beginning of 
the year. The Germans had now finished for the 
moment with Russia. With deadly method they turned 
to their next victim ; and now the Bulgarians from the 
south and the Teutons from the north closed on that 
unhappy little country. 

Mr. Lloyd George witnessed this assault with an 
anguish of soul inevitable to one born and bred in a 
little nation himself. Even at this last hour he did 



204 THE PRIME MINISTER 

his utmost to rescue Serbia from her fate. He racked 
his brains to devise some method of saving Serbia. He 
pressed the military authorities with a vehemence in- 
convenient in a world of steady routine and disciplined 
ideas. He agitated, argued, pleaded. 

But by this time the facts were too strong even for 
him. Between us and Serbia lay a Royalist Greece now 
indifferent if not actually hostile, coldly resolved to 
abandon her pledged word. Rumania was still hesi- 
tating and fearful. Russia was for the moment ex- 
hausted. No help was near enough to hand to save 
the doomed victim. 

So the British Government were compelled to stand 
by helpless while the very nation on whose account 
the war broke out was conquered and outraged, her 
armies scattered, her population enslaved, and her chil- 
dren scattered like sheep through the mountains.^ No 
more tragic chapter is recorded in the annals of 
Europe. 

But the mischief did not end there. Not only did 
the conquest of Serbia give to Germany the great hnk 
with the East for which she yearned, but it completely 
destroyed all our remaining chances of success on Gal- 
lipoli. The very enterprise which had already taken 
the place of the Serbian expedition became futile from 
the moment of the Serbian disaster. In the beginning 
of October the Turks had been running so seriously 
short of ammunition that success for our arms seemed 
near at hand. By the end of the month they were 
fully replenished. The enterprise became plainly im- 
possible from the moment that Germany, having now, 

' Some 30,cxx) Serbian boys were sent across the mountains to the 
sea to escape from the invader. Less than half reached the sea. 



SERBIA 205 

by the conquest of Serbia and the coming in of Bul- 
garia, achieved a direct route to Constantinople, could 
pour through as much ammunition and as many big 
guns as the Turks required for their defence.^ 

On December 19th began the withdrawal from that 
fatal peninsula, and on January 8th of the following 
year not a single British soldier remained on those 
bloodstained shores. 

Is it not possible that the more chivalrous and vigor- 
ous action on behalf of Serbia for which Mr. Lloyd 
George had so importunately pressed might have been 
also the best policy for the prosperity of the Allies in 
the war as a whole? 

^See Lord Kitchener's final telegram of November 22nd, 1915, 
which decided the War Cabinet to evacuate (p. 57 of Pt. II, the Final 
Report of the Dardanelles Commission). 



CHAPTER XVII 

MUNITIONS 

"Like a rickety, clumsy machine, with a pin loose here, and a 
tooth broken there, and a makeshift somewhere else, in which the 
force of Hercules may be exhausted in a needless friction, and 
obscure hitches before the hands are got to move, so is our 
Executive, with the Treasury, the Horse Guards, the War De- 
partment, the Medical Department, all out of gear, but all re- 
quired to move together before a result can be obtained. He will 
be stronger than Hercules who can get out of it the movement 
we require " — Colonel Lefroy's letter to Miss Florence Night- 
ingale, Sir Edward Cook's Life of Miss Florence Nightingale, 
vol. i. pp. 322-3. 

From the early days of the war Mr. Lloyd George 
had perceived that there were two great difficulties 
ahead of us — men and the arming of men — and that 
perhaps the greater of the two was the arming.^ For 
the first year, at any rate, the question of men seemed 
to present little difficulty. England's manhood came 
flocking to the banner of Lord Kitchener. The great 
multitudes of free citizens who freely poured into the 
recruiting offices after the retreat from Mons, will 
always be one of the most splendid episodes in our 
history. The patience and valour — the good-humour 
and endurance — of those first armies of "Kitcheners" 
will always add an imperishable glory to the name of 
him who summoned them. 

* "What we stint in materials we squander in life; that is the 
one great lesson of munitions." — Mr. Lloyd George in the House of 
Commons, December 21st, 1915. 

206 



MUNITIONS 207 

So far, indeed, "nought shall make us rue." Eng- 
land rested true to herself and her great cause. 

But it was not enough to gather the legions. It 
was necessary also to arm them. Here it soon be- 
came clear that we were up against a new portent. 
The stupendous war equipment of the German armies, 
both in guns and in munitions, has since become a com- 
monplace; at that time it was a wonder and a surprise. 
The War Office went into the war still thinking in terms 
of the Boer War, when machine-guns were a new mir- 
acle and shrapnel was the last word in shells. They 
found themselves faced with an army in which machine- 
guns had become a multitudinous commonplace and 
shrapnel was already the humble servant of the high- 
explosive shell. 

This was clearly, from the first, a struggle of ma- 
chinery. It was not an old-fashioned war. It was a 
war monstrously new — a fight against a people im- 
mensely modern and scientific, as high in skill as they 
were low in ruth, armed cap-a-pie with every device of 
destruction, sharpened to the finest edge on the whet- 
stone of prepared war. 

All this has since become a commonplace ; It is Mr. 
Lloyd George's distinction that he perceived it clearly 
In the autumn of 19 14. Then in the Cabinet he already 
Insisted on the need for increased armaments. He 
preached in season and out of season the need for 
guns; and in the autumn of 19 14 the Cabinet Com- 
mittee, of which he was a member, forced the War 
Office to order 4,000 guns instead of 600 for the fol- 
lowing year (1915). 

But as the weeks passed a situation began to arise 
. which threw even this provision into the shade of in- 



S08 THE PRIME MINISTER 

adequaq^. It became clear that we had to help in the 
munitioning of our Allies. There was France — early 
in the war she lost her richest industrial districts. With 
splendid promptitude she had organised her factories 
for the making of guns, shells, and rifles. But she 
required to be supplied with the raw materials now 
lacking to her. 

A far graver need was soon to arise in Russia. The 
•German victories of 19 15 placed Germany in posses- 
sion of 70 per cent, of the Russian steel-producing area. 
Her millions from that time required arming, not 
merely for victory, but also, it soon became clear, even 
for defence.^ 

To meet this colossal situation Great Britain was 
but poorly provided. The Navy absorbed for her 
great needs the principal national engineering resources 
of the country. The only British military machine of 
munition-supply at the opening of the war was the 
Ordnance Department of the War Office. Nothing 
could exceed the devotion and zeal of the men at 
the head of that office. But it was hopelessly under- 
equipped for so great a call. It was wanting in staff, 
resources, and Ideas. It was perilously detached from 
our great civilian industries. It found Itself faced with 
unparalleled difficulties of material and labour. For 
with the opening of the war we were cut off from some 
of our most Important raw Ingredients for explosives; 
and the very fervour of our first great recruiting cam- 
paign, too little directed and restricted, denuded the 
possible workshops of war. 

*The evidence in the Sukhomikoff trial has now brought out the 
immensity of this shortcoming, not then fully divulged to the British 
Government by the Russian governing power. 



MUNITIONS 209 

There were many crises In this situation. One of 
the gravest occurred in the late autumn of I9i4> when 
we were faced with a complete inability to supply the 
army with explosives for the making of mines. How 
that situation was met by a group of civil servants and 
pubhc men, and its first acuteness lessened by the for- 
mation of an Explosives Committee in the Board of 
Trade under Lord Moulton has already been revealed 
by Lord Moulton himself.^ It is one of the great 
stories of the war. 

But no such departmental devices could long suffice 
to meet the terrific call of the situation as a whole. As 
the weeks passed, it gradually became clear to Mr. 
Lloyd George that, if we were to be saved, a tremen- 
dous and radical change was required. This was noth- 
ing less than the calling to our aid in this war all those 
great manufacturing resources of the nation whick had 
given us our ascendancy in peace. 

The manufacturers, indeed, were quite willing to 
come. They needed no call. They were eager to help. 
They already clamoured at the door. 

But the soldier is not suited by the traditions of his 
.calling to work easily with the civilian. That very 
virtue of iron discipline which is the habit of war mili- 
tated against the free play of mind essential to a new 
development of industry. There Is a story of a great 
business man from the North of England who, after 
being summoned to the War Office for the transaction 
of business, was kept waiting for two hours, and then 
told that the officer in command had gone off for his 
lunch. He is said to have picked up his hat and said 
decisively: "Tell the General that If he wants me again 

*See his evidence in the Mond libel action. 



210 THE PRIME MINISTER 

he must send a battalion to fetch me." It was a fair 
reminder that there are limits to the power of mere 
military discipline. 

Those who lived in the centre of things during the 
spring of 19 15 will remember the flood of such nar- 
ratives — many of them told to the House of Com- 
mons ^ — which came from the mouths of indignant and 
offended manufacturers. Offers were rejected which 
afterwards proved essential. Orders were given and 
then forgotten. Machinery was set up and then not 
used. There was devotion and zeal; but there was no ad- 
equate organisation to meet the demands of the present, 
and no proper foresight as to the needs of the future. 

Lord Kitchener, indeed, had a deserved reputation 
for organising capacity; but that eminent man was 
hopelessly overwhelmed. It was the fault of those 
who expected too much of him — who first spoke of him 
as a god and finally treated him as a dog. Reluctantly 
giving up Egypt for the War Office, Lord Kitchener 
found himself in control of a ship unmanned. The 
splendid military staff gathered at the War Office had 
heen scattered to all the fields of war. He found him- 
self very much alone. He felt compelled to act as his 
own Chief of Staff, his own organiser of recruiting, 
his own controller of supplies. Among his great gifts 
he did not possess that of easy and swift delegation. 
He saw that the War Office required to be built up 
afresh; but he did not feel equal to building it up dur- 
ing a great war. The result was that he took too much 
on himself, and most lamentably diminished his own 
splendid utility In the process. 

*See Debate of April 22nd, 1915. Mr. Bonar Law gave some 
striking instances. 



MUNITIONS 211 

Such a method was certain to lead to neglect and 
delay In some of the chief functions of war. All were 
delayed and many were neglected. But where delay 
and neglect met in most disastrous combinations was 
In this matter of the supply of the munitions of war. 

So grave did this defect become that it threatened 
our cause before long with Irretrievable disaster. It 
was only a great effort of the whole nation, combined in 
one common Impulse of energy, that saved the cause. 

In that effort Mr. Lloyd George took a great and 
leading part. 

His plea for guns In the autumn of 19 14 was fol- 
lowed up by a visit to France, where he was enabled 
to obtain Insight into the great effort of industrial 
reorganisation which had enabled France to rearm 
after the loss of the North, and the shock of the Ger- 
man invasion. He returned with a full report on this 
achievement, due to the great energy and splendid 
public spirit of that great Frenchman, M. Albert 
Thomas. 

Mr. Lloyd George proposed to the Cabinet that 
Great Britain should follow In the steps of France. 
Mr. Asqulth was quite wIHIng; and a Cabinet Commit- 
tee was set up with advisory powers to work out the 
details. The Committee sat at the War Office with 
Lord Kitchener in the chair. The matter was fully 
discussed. The War Office appeared to agree to adopt 
the French scheme. Weeks passed. Then it was dis- 
covered that little or no action had been taken. It 
was clear that it was the executive arm which was at 
fault. 

The winter months passed, and there was little 



S12 THE PRIME MINISTER 

quickening of energy. Hundreds of thousands of the 
Kitchener recruits were without clothes, arms, rifles, 
or guns. Rumours and murmurs began to come from 
the front of the tremendous British losses from supe- 
rior German guns. 

In February a new danger became instantly vital. 
The news came from the East of Europe of the definite 
breakdown of the Russian armaments. Their gigantic 
armies threatened to become unarmed mobs. 

In the West things were little better. During Feb- 
ruary and March fuller details began to reach London 
— of one British machine-gun against ten German; of 
four British shells against forty German. The sup- 
pression of the free and independent War Correspon- 
dent had cast a veil of silence over the realities of the 
war. The truth was struggling to come through; and 
not all the efforts of all the censors could entirely suf- 
focate and strangle it. But it meant that any zealous 
Minister had to fight hard against a lethal atmosphere 
of secrecy that soon bred ignorance. 

Against this atmosphere Mr. Lloyd George per- 
sistently battled; and in the early weeks of April he 
made a- fresh appeal for further speeding up. The 
Prime Minister (Mr. Asquith) agreed. On April 
13th (19 15) he appointed a strong Munitions Com- 
mittee, known as the Treasury Committee, consisting 
of Ministers, civil servants and experts, with Mr. Lloyd 
George in the chair. ^ 

That Committee had no executive powers. It could 

* Among the other members of that Committee were Mr. Balfour, 
Mr. Montagu, Mr. George Booth, Sir Herbert Lleweliyn Smith, 
Admiral Tudor, and General Von Donop. Mr. Lloyd George made 
on April 22nd, 191 5, a statement in the House of Commons as to 
the work achieved by this Committee. 



MUNITIONS 21S 

only co-ordinate departments, and make suggestions. 
It was no more than a departmental Committee; but, 
in spite of this shortcoming it was able to give val- 
uable advice, much of which was acted upon. It sup- 
plied new ideas. It was often able to meet special 
emergencies. 

But from the very beginning this Committee suf- 
fered from one grave, paralysing defect: it could ob- 
tain no full or comprehensive view of the needs and 
demands of the war. Perhaps the chiefs of the War 
Office did not know themselves. In the hurry and bus- 
tle of war perhaps it is not incredible they had no leis- 
ure to take the larger and longer view. But in a long 
war that view was indispensable to action. The result 
of that ignorance, therefore, was fatal to this Commit- 
tee. It never knew enough to act or decide with effect. 
Lord Kitchener may have had his reasons; but the fact 
stands out that he refrained from arming this impor- 
tant Munitions Committee of April and May, 19 15, 
with the full knowledge necessary for real power. 

At this point an astonishing thing occurred. The 
Western Army took the matter into their own hands. 
There are many things that fighting men will en- 
re — incredible tortures, surpassing those of the early 
martyrs. But there is one thing which always tries 
them beyond the limit: that is to be hit without the 
power of hitting back — to be shelled without being able 
to shell. Such was now (in April and May, 1915) 
the intolerable situation of the men under General 
French's command in France.^ They decided that it 
was not their duty to accept this cruel fate without some 
effort to find a cure. 

^ See his statement to the yowrwa/ correspondent in September 1917. 



214 THE PRIME MINISTER 

They found their applications misunderstood, ig- 
nored, postponed. They reahsed that Ministers were 
not allowed to know the truth. They gathered from 
his public utterance at Newcastle on April 20th ^ that 
the truth was being concealed even from the Prime 
Minister (Mr. Asquith) himself. They perceived that 
the public were blind-folded. They determined to take 
steps to open their eyes. 

With this design and object, the Headquarters Staff 
in France invited certain famous journalists and pub- 
licists to the front to witness for themselves the results 
of the lack of proper shells in the attack on the Aubers 
ridge. ^ Most of those visitors found themselves help- 
less in the grip of a double censorship — in France and 
in England. One of them, however, the famous mili- 
tary correspondent of the Thnes,^ wrote his despatch 
on the spot and sent it through the censorship of the 
field of battle, severe indeed, but on this occasion, 
perhaps, a httle more friendly. In this way, and thanks 
to the historic prestige of the great organ which pub- 
lished it, there appeared in the Times of May 14th, 
19 15, that famous message from the front, "mutilated 
and twice censored," ^ which itself proved so powerful 
a petard. 

^ "I saw a statement the other day that the operations, not only 
of our Army, but of our Allies were being crippled, or at any rate 
hampered, by our failure to provide the necessary ammunition. There 
is not a word of truth in that statement." (Loud cheers.) Times 
report. 

^ See the full account in Lord French's "1914." His statements 
have not in substance been affected by the controversies which have 
raged round this book. 

^Lieutenant-Colonel Charles A'Court Repington, C.M.G. 

* See the Times leading article. But on May i8th Mr. Asquith 
said in the House of Commons that the despatch was censored in 
France and Mr. Tennant added that it never came before the British 
Censorship. The open official chagrin at its emergence into print 
is one of the most significant features of the whole episode. 



MUNITIONS 215 

"The want of an unlimited supply of high explosive 
was a fatal bar to our success" — that was the verdict 
of the Times correspondent; and it was confirmed by 
every observer and every soldier at the front, Includ- 
ing the soldier members of the House of Commons. 
Once the word was uttered In public, the floodgates 
were opened. It was in vain that the Government 
tried to stem the torrent of evidence. Lord Kitchener 
rose on May i8th to make a statement In the House 
of Lords; but in that speech he showed that strange 
habit of the unexpected which baulked even his friends. 
For, Instead of denying, he practically admitted the 
indictment, and for the first time stated in public what 
seemed to contradict the Newcastle utterance of the 
Prime Minister — that there had been "undoubtedly 
considerable delay in producing the material." 

This was indeed a mild way of stating the true facts. 
These continued now to pour through from the front 
with all the indecency of truth emancipated. The 
order-paper of the House of Commons began to bristle 
with questions and threats of debate; and It was only 
on the plea of public emergency that the Government 
postponed crisis. 

On the following day Mr. Lloyd George received in- 
formation which more than confirmed the statement 
of the Times correspondent. He realised with amaze- 
ment that the Munitions Committee had been kept in 
ignorance of essentials; that the mainspring had been 
missing from the watch. He determined to resign 
from a function so void of power; and on May 19th 
he wrote a letter announcing his decision, and giving his 
grave and weighty reasons. He refused to remain 



216 THE PRIME MINISTER 

chairman of a Committee which had no real executive 
power. 

The situation now moved rapidly. 

On the afternoon of that day (May 19th) Mr. As- 
quith announced to the House of Commons that the 
Liberal Government which had been in power since 
19 10 had ceased to exist, and that he proposed to re- 
construct the Government "on a broader personal and 
political basis." In other words, he had decided for 
Coalition. 

It was a wise and prudent decision. The Opposition 
had full grasp of the situation at the front. They had 
not yet manoeuvred for battle, but there was already 
forming In the minds of their leaders the conviction that 
they could no longer accept the responsibility of a si- 
lence which would inevitably spell complicity. If they 
were to continue silent they must share the govern- 
ment. The only alternative was the open scandal of a 
bitter party struggle, not without the possibility of 
grave injury to national Interests. 

But a Coalition Government alone was not enough. 
It was necessary to have some guarantee that the gen- 
eral calamitous shortage of munitions ^ should not 
continue. It is not the habit of England to send her 
youth unarmed to face her enemies. At all costs this 
grievous peril must cease. 

But It was already clear to all parties that the War 
Office was far too heavily burdened to continue bear- 
ing this responsibility. There must be a division of 
function. Lord Kitchener must be left to raise the 



^ Of all munitions, not only explosives. It proved subsequently 
that the chief want was big guns for the high-explosive shells and 
that the smaller guns were better suited with shrapnel. 



MUNITIONS 217 

armies. Another office must take over the duty of 
arming and equipping them. From this conviction 
arose the Idea of a new Department — the Ministry of 
Munitions — for which Mr. Lloyd George was already, 
by the unanimous voice of public opinion, declared 
elect. 

So on May 25th, 1915, after seven years as Chan- 
cellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Lloyd George closed 
the door of the Treasury behind him and became the 
first British Minister of Munitions. It was a great 
adventure. He was leaving behind him the secure van- 
tage of an old historic Department. He was entering 
upon a region unexplored, without map or compass, 
without precedent or guide. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE NEW MINISTRY OF MUNITIONS 

"Now all the youth of England is on fire, 
And silken dalliance in the wardrobe lies; 
Now thrive the armourers, and honour's thought 
Reigns solely in the breast of every man." 

Henry V , Prologue to Act II. 

The little group of men whom Mr. Lloyd George 
assembled round him at No. 6, Whitehall Gardens, 
during the Whit-week of 19 15, certainly seemed to 
have no easy task before them. A new Ministry had 
been founded, and a Bill to define its functions was 
being drawn up. But the Ministry possessed neither 
buildings nOr staff, neither furniture nor office paper. 
It stepped forth into the world bare as a new-born 
babe.^ 

Even when its functions had been defined by Act 
of Parliament there always hung about this enterprise 
an atmosphere of indefinable adventure. Its relations 
to other Departments, and especially to the War Of- 
fice, were never precisely defined. It was always the 
parvenu of Ministries. Throughout the crises of 
19 15 and 19 1 6 it carried with it the spirit of Esau, its 
hand against every man and every man's hand against 
It. 

* See Dr. Addison's description (House of Commons, June 28th, 
1917) : "There was to be one aim, and one aim only — to obtain the 
goods and make delivery of them to the Array. No other interests 
and no considerations of leisure were to be entertained." 

218 



THE NEW MINISTRY OP MUNITIONS 219 

After all, that was precisely the kind of office for 
which Mr. Lloyd George was best fitted. He was 
ever impatient of precedents; here was a case where 
he had to make his own precedents. He always loved 
trespassing. Here was an office where every move- 
ment was practically a raid on the ground sacred to 
some other Department. 

He was never in the least troubled by the restric- 
tions of the situation. He soon found out one vital 
fact — that our supply of shells had sunk to 75,000. 
But he rapidly grasped that there were many other 
things required for success besides shells. There were, 
for instance, guns to fire them from — big guns such as 
were entirely lacking at that time. In June of 19 15, 
finding that he still could obtain no sure or certain 
idea of what was needed at the front, he travelled to 
Boulogne, and met a little party of officers, many of 
them French, in a small cafe. The party consisted 
partly of Generals, and partly of regimental officers. 
He listened to all; for he wanted to know what was 
wanted in the firing line as much as what was thought 
to be wanted at Headquarters. He closely questioned 
the French artillerists as to the number of guns they 
were using. General Du Cane ^ was there from our 
Headquarters' Staff; and he brought with him a full 
report of what guns were required according to their 
views. 

Mr. Lloyd George began to realise that the need for 
big guns wa? the centre of the situation. 

After his cross-examination was over, Mr. Lloyd 
George turned to General Du Cane: 

* Lieutenant-General Sir John Philip Du Cane, Major-General 
R.A., G.H.Q., 1915. Afterwards British representative with Marshal 
Foch. 



220 THE PRIME MINISTER 

"Don't you think you had better go back and revise 
your estimates?" 

General Du Cane promptly agreed — he had him- 
self been converted. He went back to Headquarters. 

At midday there was a break In these urgent talks. 
M. Albert Thomas suggested that In the afternoon they 
ought to have a formal meeting to go Into the whole 
subject. 

"I am sorry," said Mr. Lloyd George, "but I must 
get back to England." 

"Go back already?" 

"Yes, already — there is not a moment to be lost. 
These big guns must be ordered." 

He went back. A revived estimate of the munition 
requirements In France was sent to Whitehall. Mr. 
Lloyd George increased that estimate. He sent it 
across to Lord Kitchener. The great man, willing 
but doubtful of our resources, sent it back with a com- 
ment: "That will take three years." ^ 

Mr. Lloyd George then called together all the heads 
of the armament firms. He laid the scheme before 
them. They viewed it with grave doubts. They pro- 
duced laborious estimates — discussed — consulted their 
chiefs. 

Mr. Lloyd George put aside all the papers. 

"Gentlemen," he said, "this has to be done If the 
country Is to be saved. You will do it!" 

There was nothing more to be said. They went 
away to do it; and they did it. 

The high officials responsible for financial control 
were a little disturbed at his way of conducting busi- 

* Similarly, to Lord French he said eight years {Journal inter- 
view, Sept. 1917). 



THE NEW MINISTRY OP MUNITIONS 221 

ness. Later on, yet more guns were ordered, and 
official protests from other Departments were car- 
ried up to the highest quarters. But before a decision 
could be reached the orders had been given out, and 
the great guns — the guns that saved France and Eng- 
land — were on the way.^ 

That was characteristic of his way of lising the new 
machinery of the new Ministry. 

How this new Department of State was gradually 
built up; how picked men from all over the country, 
and from the Civil Service, were gathered to the side 
of the new Minister; how buildings were secured from 
day to day for the work of administration; how exces- 
sive hours were worked and excessive risks were run 
by old as well as young, and women as well as men,— r 
this story has already been largely told in the Par- 
liamentary statements of the Munition Ministers,^ and 
it is one of the most romantic and thrilling chapters 
in the history of the war. 

There are one or two features in the history of this 
movement which especially illustrate the characteristics 
of Mr. Lloyd George and his power of appeal to the 
public. 

The first of these was the rally of the business men 
of England in response to his call. The British com- 
mercial classes were not, in the period before the war, 
particularly attached to Mr. Lloyd George. They 

^Mr. Montagu, in the House of Commons, on August i6th, 1916, 
said openly that "Mr. Lloyd George ordered far more guns than 
were thought by the War Office to be necessary, and yet received 
new requirements showing that he had not ordered enough." 

^Mr. Lloyd George's statement of December 21st, 1915, Mr. Mon- 
tagu's statement of August i6th, 1916, and Dr. Addison's statement 
of June 38th, 1917. 



222 THE PRIME MINISTER 

had some "bones to pick" with him. But it must be 
said, to their eternal credit, that when they realised 
the need of their country the old hatchet was at once 
put underground. They came in hundreds to help him. 
Many of them came without price, leaving their own 
factories and workshops, putting aside their chance of 
personal profit, and content to live on such salaries as 
their business could afford them. It is true that 
many of them have risen to high honour in this ser- 
vice. It is well that it should be so. 

Happily there is sufficient soul of good in things to 
justify sacrifice and even to reward it. It is no ill thing 
that many of these men have risen to high honour and 
blazoned their names on the roll of England's noblest 
servants. 

But it was not only the commercial men that came 
forward voluntarily to answer the call. The Civil Ser- 
vants also volunteered from all branches of the Ser- 
vice to undertake increased responsibility without ad- 
ditional gain. It was laid down from the beginning 
that none of those Civil Servants who came into the 
Munition Service should receive extra pay for extra 
work. Second division clerks raised to higher posts 
still continued to receive the old salaries; so great was 
the eagerness to save the country that men worked 
overtime without complaint, and there were in those 
early days many men who came suspiciously near to 
working night shifts as well as day. 

It was precisely the combination of the best Civil 
Servants with the best commercial men that gave to 
the Ministry of Munitions such a marvellous touch 
of efficiency. Manufacturers coming up from the prov- 
inces were now pleasantly surprised to find a new 



THE NEW MINISTRY OP MUNITIONS 

swiftness of despatch in the conduct of their business. 
Every one brought into touch with the Ministry of 
Munitions found a new spirit which seemed to give a 
new hope for the government of this country. There 
was a certain thrill about the most common affairs 
within those walls. Every servant of the Ministry, 
down to the very boys and girls who carried the mes- 
sages, seemed to feel that they were called to a high 
task for a great end. It was in this spirit that this 
great effort was undertaken and sustained throughout 
the years that followed. At the same time the country 
as a whole found itself provided at last with a capable 
machinery for using its services. Not only was the 
centre quickened and sharpened to new uses, but the 
whole of the United Kingdom was mapped out and in 
every district there sat a Committee who formed a 
careful estimate of the resources of that area.^ 

On the basis of that estimate there now began to 
grow up, as if by magic, that vast network of new 
war factories which saved the armies in France. The 
factories grew up chiefly near the iron and coal which 
provided the raw material of munitions and handy to 
the great supplies of skilled labour.^ 

But no adjustment could avoid a great upheaval of 
social life. For it was part of this great change that 
a vast mass of labour must be transferred from the In- 
dustries of peace to the industries of war. 

It was also part of the great stress of this crisis 

* Twelve areas: England and Wales, 8; Scotland, 2; Ireland, 2; 
40 local Munition Committees in the engineering centres consisting 
of local business men. (Mr. Lloyd George, December sist, 1915.) 

* Within a year the labour employed on munitions had gone up 
from 1,635,000 to 2,350,000, and there were 32 national shell factories, 
12 for projectiles, 6 for cartridges, etc. (Mr. Montagu, August 
1915-) 



2M THE PRIME MINISTER 

that the State must be sure of its labour and that it must 
be able to draw from that labour the utmost power of 
effort, sustained and continued through a prolonged 
period of time. 

Here lay the necessity for a new War Labour policy, 
difficult and delicate to justify and administer, but indis- 
pensable for the safety of the country. 

It was clearly impossible to guarantee the adequate 
war output of this vast aggregate of factories and 
workshops on the basis of the old peace conditions — 
with an uncertain supply of skilled labour shifting about 
from shop to shop along the ordinary channels of de- 
mand and supply. The habit of "stealing" labour by 
the offer of higher wages.had already grown to so high 
a point in the early days of the war that the Munitions 
Committee had had to issue an order under the De- 
fence of the Realm Act making it an offence to "en- 
tice." ^ Thus the peace freedom of movement had 
already been suspended. But now it was necessary to 
carry the restrictions further and to guarantee to the 
nation at war a hold on its workmen similar in kind, 
though not in degree, to the hold on its soldiers. 

Mr. Lloyd George characteristically wished to make 
the bold appeal, and to say to the workmen: "Submit 
to the same discipline as your sons in the trenches. 
Place yourselves under the same law, with this only 
difference — that you are better-paid men." ^ But this 
proposal, when laid before the leaders of the Trade 

* There had also been in March an agreement between the Govern- 
ment and the Trade Unions called the Treasury Agreement, and 
administered by a Labour Advisory Committee. The general line 
of that agreement was an understanding to suspend restrictive Trade 
Union practices in return for a promise to tax excess profits. 

* He put this appeal very strongly in a speech to the engineers at 
Cardiff on June nth, 1915. 



THE NEW MINISTRY 0¥ MUNITIONS 2S5 

Unions, met with fierce opposition. The "conscription 
of labpur," as it was called, was denounced as a "new 
slavery." Some degree of national consent to such a 
measure was plainly necessary. So that proposal was 
dropped, and the Ministry of Munitions set out to 
search for a new policy. 

The policy finally agreed upon took shape in the first 
Munitions Act and the subsequent amending measures. 
Round those measures a great strife afterwards arose, 
and it may be worth while to say something as to their 
origin and justification. 

It was absolutely necesjgary, if the armies were to be 
properly supplied with the immense mass of munitions 
required, that the workers should both consent to the 
limitation of their freedom of movement and should 
also suspend a number of those limitations and con- 
ditions of toil which had been won In the course of 
the long conflict between Capital and Labour. 

It was desirable to come to a bargain; and with that 
view the Trade Unions were consulted at every point. 
If the Government must trust Labour, Labour must 
also trust the Government. Labour must have assur- 
ance that a temporary suspension of conditions should 
not prejudice the position in time of peace. That as- 
surance had been already given, and was now formally 
embodied in the Munitions Act.^ 

On these broad lines had grown up this Concordat, 
which, with all its frictions and inevitable misunder- 
standings, still carried the country through the mo- 
ments of gravest peril. The liberty of Labour was 

* Clause 20 of the main Act: "This Act shall have effect only so 
long as the Office of Minister of Munitions and the Ministry of 
Munitions exist." 



226 THE PRIME MINISTER 

gravely restricted; but the great and sufficient reward 
for such a sacrifice to every patriotic workman always 
was the kiiowledge that brave lives were being saved 
and brave hearts sustained at the front. Another im- 
portant thing was that the country was being saved 
also. 

Certainly the restrictions were very formidable. No 
workman or workwoman could leave their employment 
in the war factory without a special "leaving certifi- 
cate." All rules or customs restricting labour were 
suspended; no strikes were allowed; and all questions 
of wages and hours were to be settled by compulsory 
arbitration. To administer these rules Munition Tri- 
bunals were set up in every district; and they had 
powers of inflicting heavy fines. Such provisions must 
depend largely on the good faith and good-will of em- 
ployers; and there must always be some who will not 
"play the game." Hence the chronic movements of re- 
volt — the rise of the shop stewards, the engineers' 
strike, the war-weariness of so many industrial districts 
in the summer of 19 17. 

In the autumn of 19 17 Mr. Winston Churchill, the 
new Minister of Munitions, found it possible to sus- 
pend the leaving certificate and to slacken some of these 
conditions. But there could be no doubt as to their 
necessity up to that time. 

The sole and sufficient excuse for these grave restric- 
tions of liberty was always the war, and the war alone. 
War is a terrible master; and wherever he raises his 
head, few escape his tyranny. All that can be said is 
that, with all their troubles, the sufferings of the men 
in the workshops were as grains in the balance against 
the sufferings of the men In the trenches. 



THE NEW MINISTRY OF MUNITIONS 227 

But, even so, the work of the men alone was not 
enough to meet the need. Other sources of labour 
must be tapped. It was now necessary to call in the 
women to the aid of the men. 

Mr. Lloyd George ventured on a bold appeal. He 
asked the women to come from their pleasures and 
their comforts; he asked them to save the lives of their 
brothers, their sweethearts, and their husbands. They 
came in multitudes. They filled the ranks, and they 
filled the shells.^ They silenced their sourest critics, 
even in their own sex. They worked by day and they 
worked by night. They earned for themselves a new 
position in the State. They showed that women could 
be patriots themselves,, as well as the wives and moth- 
ers of patriots. Not easily will England forget thosre 
splendid women of 191 5-1 8. 

As for Mr. Lloyd George himself, he worked as 
hard as any one in the ranks of this new Labour Army. 
He was here, there, and everywhere. All through 
the summer of 19 15' he travelled over the country, 
appealing, stimulating, and even when necessary rebuk- 
ing. He visited all the Industrial centres. He spoke 
straight to the English working classes; and it was 
only their worst friends who resented his honesty. He 
told them to suspend their peace weaknesses In this su- 
preme hour; and he told them-, as John Stuart Mill 
told them once before, where their chief weakness lay. 
He set up a Drink Control Board, as well as Munition. 
Tribunals; and all that was best and most loyal among 
the artisans acquiesced. Qa ira; the plan worked; the 
machine began to do Its duty. 

^ At Woolwich alone the number of women workers rose from 
125 to 25,000. 



228 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Nothing was left undone. To fill up the ranks, un- 
skilled men were trained to do the work of skilled. 
The Board of Trade organised a special army of 
Munition Volunteers. In the autumn of 19 15 there 
was a great effort, In conjunction with the War Office, 
to bring back from the front some thousands ^ of 
those numerous munition workers, Iron-workers, and 
miners who had been allowed to recruit In the first 
fine flush of the recruiting enthusiasm In 19 14. 

Mr. Lloyd George gave his whole mind to this one 
question — the making of war material. He had, as we 
have seen, 'found the Army with only 75,000 shells In 
hand In June, 1915 ; when he left the Ministry In June, 
19 1 6, he had provided shells In millions. He himself 
mastered the technique of shell-making and gun-mak- 
ing; he visited the factories and studied the machinery; 
he listened to every complaint from the soldiers at the 
front; he Investigated every defect. 

The real secret, Indeed, of his work was that he 
kept in touch with the armies at the Western Front, 
constantly visiting them, studying* their needs on the 
spot, listening to the actual fighting men. Above all 
he studied the German Inventions. After a short while, 
thanks to the labours of our young scientists from the 
Universities, he was able to provide our soldiers with 
gas-masks that enabled them to face unshaken the 
worst .deviltry of the enemy, and with gas that was a 
fit reply to theirs. He provided our men with flame- 
throwers which made them a fair match when they 
faced the flame-throwers of the Teuton. 



*40,ocx) soldiers were brought back. In addition, there are 38,000 
War Munition Volunteers, and 30,000 Army Reserve Munition 
Workers. (Dr. Addison's speech.) 



THE NEW MINISTRY OP MUNITIONS 229 

I remember his taking me, one day in 19 15, to see 
his little collection of these horrible devices in the 
basement of the old Metropole Hotel. He showed me 
the model shells, mounting by slow gradations to a 
giant's height. He lingered halfway along this row 
of shells. He put his hand on one. "When I started 
the Ministrj'^," he said, "our shells went only as high 
as this. The German shells went to the top of the 
range. Was that fair to our soldiers?" It was avivid 
Illustration of what they were achieving. 

So this gigantic new organisation was built up, and 
gradually brought its full weight Into the struggle. 
Its functions were constantly enlarging. By proved fit- 
ness to rule over one city this new Ministry soon 
achieved the right to rule over ten. From supplying It 
took to making, from making It took to designing, and 
to designing after its own ideas. The great net-work 
of Its new factories gradually spread over the land. 
Greatly daring, It built; It housed; It fed. From a ser- 
vant It became a master. In August, 1 9 1 5 , It took over 
from the War Office the Royal Factory at Woolwich; 
and so It became the supreme war-maker of the nation. 

Meanwhile, the soldiers at the front grew more con- 
fident and serene. They felt the support of the great 
working nation behind them. They grew more con- 
fident of supremacy. They knew that even the women- 
kind were "doing their bit." In each great battle, as 
the shells swept over their heads, they felt a new power 
at work In their favour.^ They "went over the top" 

^By August 1916 the high-explosive shells had been increased by 
66 per cent.; there had been a 14-fold increase of machine-guns; and 
a 33-fold increase of bombs. Every month saw as many great guns 
manufactured as existed at the beginning of the war. (Mr. Montagu, 
August 1916.) 



230 THE PRIME MINISTER 

with the knowledge that the mailed fist of Prussia was 
to be met with the iron hammer of England. 

To this new feeling and the confidence born of It we 
may largely attribute the great victories of the Somme, 
the storming of the VImy Ridge, and the smashing 
onslaught on Messines. 

Many Englishmen, great and small, have a right to 
share in the glory of this great work. We must not 
forget those men who, before the great central crisis 
arose, battled alone against a sea of errors and failings 
in high places — great civil servants like Sir Hubert 
Llewellyn Smith, or great public servants like Lord 
Moulton. Such men do not labour in the limelight. 
We must remember their services. 

Nor must we forget loyal political helpers like Dr. 
Addison, Mr. Lloyd George's first lieutenant at the 
Ministry, and Mr. Montagu, his successor. 

But, when all Is said and done, the man who did 
the deed was Mr. Lloyd George. Without his resolu- 
tion and decision England would have fared badly in 
that dark hour. It was he who designed, directed, 
and completed this noble and stupendous endeavour. 
It was he who carried it through. It was he who, when 
others failed, armed and strengthened our armies. It 
is scarcely too much to say that it was he who, under 
Providence, saved England. 



CHAPTER XIX 



PREMIERSHIP 



"Not once or twice in our rough island-story, 
The path of duty was the way to glory." 

Tennyson. 

This great revival In the supply of munitions to 
Great Britain and her Allies began, early In 1916, to 
show its effects on the fortunes of the war. 

There were some things that could not be retrieved 
— Serbia, Bulgaria, Kut. On the Western fields of war 
there was a steady stiffening, and the 19 15 peril of 
collapse gradually passed away. During the spring 
of 19 16 guns and shells were accumulated In great 
masses for a summer attack. 

The new Military Service Act, too, now began to 
come into action; a steady supply of young men began 
to fill up the gaps In the armies at the front. 

What could be done by men and munitions was be- 
ing done ; and at any rate it was no longer possible for 
the commanders and men to feel that they were not 
being properly supported by the civilians at home. 

It was not only in regard to the British armies that 
this great uplift of power took place. The Russians, 
too, now found themselves being supplied with streams 
of guns and shells from Great Britain; and Brusiloff 
began to prepare for his great thrust forward. 

Thus events moved forward to those great battles 

231 



232 THE PRIME MINISTER 

of July and August, 191 6, when, by sheer force of 
gun-power, we captured positions thought to be im- 
pregnable, and brought about the dramatic with- 
drawal of the German armies towards the French fron- 
tiers in the spring of 19 17. 

But, in the meantime, Mr. Lloyd George himself 
had been called away to other and higher tasks. He 
is one of those men whom Nature seems to have 
marked out as pioneers; and there seems to be almost 
a law by which, when such men have accomplished one 
great task, another sphere calls for them. At the 
Ministry of Munitions he had now done his work — 
that work of starting, inspiring, and organising which 
is peculiarly his. Other men could now take up the 
task and keep it going; they could run the engine once 
it was devised and set running; happily, there are many 
such men in the world. 

It was fated that a tragic event should make it neces- 
sary that Mr. Lloyd George should now himself move 
forward. 

On June 5th, 19 16, Lord Kitchener, always the head 
and forefront of England's military effort, the great 
Captain of those legions to whom he gave his own 
name, met an untimely end in H.M.S. Hampshire, off 
the western coast of Scotland. The splendid cruiser 
which carried his fortunes was met by a fierce gale; 
but his mission to Russia was urgent, and he was not 
the man to delay. The ship altered its course to the 
lee side of the Shetland Islands, and there it met with 
a mine cast adrift by the storm, and quickly foundered. 
Lord Kitchener was last seen on the quarter-deck meet- 
mg death as calmly as he had faced life. 



PREMIERSHIP 233 

Mr. Lloyd George was called to take Lord Kitchen- 
er's place, and passed in June, 191 6, from the Ministry 
of Munitions to the War Office. The effect of this 
change was to increase his power of control over the 
war, and at the same time to deepen his responsibility. 

He did not stay long enough in the War Office to 
obtain complete grip of the administrative machine, or 
to introduce the reforms which were so desirable in that 
office. But this period of power was marked by some 
of those bold and sweeping strokes which are so char- 
acteristic. In the autumn of i<)i6, on one of his 
periodical visits to the Western Front, he realised that 
the Army was on the eve of a tragical breakdown of 
communications. The French roads were becoming 
worn out with the strain of the heavy transport traffic. 
We had not enjoyed that immense relief from the struc- 
ture of small railways which was common to our Allies 
and our enemies. He also grasped the fact that the 
fortunes of all future "offensives" were going to depend 
on swift and decisive concentrations of guns, shells, and 
men, only possible by means of railways. The rail- 
ways then at our disposal in France were quite insuf- 
ficient to carry the burden of vast armies as well as the 
local life of the countryside. He insisted, against 
great opposition, both from officials and Press, on plac- 
ing the railways under the control of railway men. He 
persuaded Sir Douglas Haig to make Sir Eric Geddes 
a General at Headquarters in charge of transporta- 
tion. Later on, Sir Eric Geddes was given charge of 
all transportations in the United Kingdom, as well as 
in the British zone in France; and he Imposed on the 
British civilian population those restrictions of traffic 
which have been so cheerfully borne. All this made a 



^34. THE PRIME MINISTER 

huge difference, both in the smooth working of the 
army machine in France, and in the organisation of 
those swift, sudden springs forward which played so 
great a part in the final victory. 

But greater events were soon to claim his attention. 

He had not yet obtained full grip of the machinery 
at the War OfSce when there loomed up in the East 
another of those great tragedies of the little nations, 
which, lilce Stations of the Cross, marked the stages of 
this world-agony. 

Rumania had always felt strong sympathy with 
the cause of the Entente Allies. In spite of various 
cross-currents, the tide of her feelings had set very 
steadily towards the cause of the Western democracies. 
But she had hitherto been restrained by a very wise 
prudence from rushing into a struggle with powerful 
Empires close at hand. 

But now fortune seemed to be swinging over to the 
democracies. The Somme and Verdun seemed to be 
the obverse and the reverse sides of the same victorious 
shield. The Italians were moving forward. The Rus- 
sians were sanguine, and pressed Rumania for her 
assistance. 

So the Rumanian Government, on August 27th, took 
the great decision and declared war on Austria. 

All the world knows the episodes in that tragic story 
— the premature Rumanian advance into Transylvania, 
the sudden, treacherous attack in the rear from Bul- 
garia — the quick, smashing blows of the gathered Ger- 
man armies — the passing of that fearful harrow of war 
over that beautiful, romantic land. 

No one saw this coming cloud more rapidly than Mr. 
Lloyd George. Early in September he read through 



PREMIERSHIP 235 

the designs of the German commanders. With his 
uncanny eye for a military situation, he seemed to know 
what Hindenburg was going to do before he did it. 
He noticed a weakening in the attack on Verdun. He 
realised in a moment that Bulgaria would not be mov- 
ing if she were not sure of German help. He saw 
straight into the heart of the German eastern ambi- 
tions, and he reahsed that here they had an oppor- 
tunity which on no account would they pass by. 

He was full of a feverish desire to avert the blow, 
even at the eleventh hour. Could not anything still 
be done? There was Italy — she was at the doors of 
the East — there was Russia. Was it nothing to them 
who passed by — this crucifixion of a little nation? 
There was always something especially poignant in his 
emotions over these tragedies. He was not a man 
suited to the part of sitting by and doing nothing. 

But Rumania was already beyond the reach of our 
help. When Serbia was lost, Rumania was cut off 
also from British aid. The British Fleet, as Lord 
Salisbury once shrewdly remarked, cannot operate in 
the Balkans. Russia, the only possible rescuer, proved 
a broken reed. She was already paralysed by the sleep- 
ing sickness of internal treachery. 

So Rumania went under. But the event had a rever- 
berating influence on Mr. Lloyd George's mind. It 
brought him to a decision which he had long been 
meditating. 

He could no longer go on being responsible for these 
repeated failures without a supreme effort to make 
them cease. 

He had for a long time past gravely doubted whether 
he would not be more capable of helping in the con- 



THE PREVIE MINISTER 

duct of the war if he left the Government. He had 
often Been on the verge of resigning — on munitions, 
on conscription, on the Serbian failure. He had a 
growing conviction that the only hope of winning the 
war was through the nation; and he wanted to guide 
and to inform the nation. He longed to be "unmuz- 
zled" — to speak out what he knew, to speak for him- 
self alone. 

But it had always happened that before he took 
action his policy had won; and then it became prac- 
tically impossible for him to resign. Ministers cannot 
resign on delay alone. Yet these constant delays were 
piling up against us a constantly accumulating debt. Or, 
as with the proud Roman and the ancient Sibyl, the 
reward was diminishing while the price was not less. 

The Rumanian disaster brought Mr. Lloyd George 
to the parting of the ways. He must either reform the 
Government to better uses, or he must gain his free- 
dom — on that issue he was clear. 

Reflecting deeply on the mode and method of re- 
form, he saw but one way out — a smaller and more 
efficient body, wholly devoted to the direction of the 
war. That had been his view for a long time past — 
and every event had confirmed it. What was wanted 
was unified, unsleeping control. 

He decided at last to place this view definitely and 
decisively before Mr. Asquith, the Prime Minister. 

He did so in a long conversation on the morning of 
Friday, December ist, 191 6. 

This was the first phase in a crisis into which Mr. 
Lloyd George entered with the utmost reluctance. He 
was sincerely attached to Mr. Asquith. He had that 



PREMIERSHIP 237 

regard for him which Is often based on an entire differ- 
ence of temperament. He fully recognised the great- 
ness of those qualities which have given Mr. Asquith so 
strong a hold on the esteem and affections of his coun- 
trymen. He wished to continue the working partner- 
ship. He made in the course of these negotiations every 
conceivable suggestion which could make the changed 
conditions tolerable to the proper pride and self-respect 
of a man who had deserved so well of the nation. 

But en the fundamental necessity for a change in 
the organisation for control of the war, he remained 
throughout as firm as adamant. There could be no 
compromise on that point. There are certain questions 
on which no man can compromise. One Is the safety 
and honour of his own country. 

He regarded that as Involved In his proposal to 
reform the machinery of war-control. 

He had come to the conclusion that a smaller and 
stronger authority was absolutely necessary for the 
prosperous conduct of the war. He also held, with 
equal strength of conviction, that no man could bear at 
the same time the double burden of parliamentary 
leadership and of the day-by-day task of Chairmanship 
of the new War Council, with Its entirely full and de- 
tailed responsibility for the conduct of the war. Mr. 
Asquith was universally acknowledged as the supreme 
parliamentary leader of his generation. He was a 
great national figure-head. It seemed a fair and rea- 
sonable proposal that he should continue to lead the 
Commons and the country, and should allow one of 
his colleagues to become the Chairman of the new War 
Authority. Mr. Lloyd George did not name himself 
as Chairman of that body. Mr. Asquith first named 



838 THE PRIME MINISTER 

him. But It soon became quite clear to both that he 
was the only fit and proper man to carry out his own 
scheme. 

Mr. Lloyd George, as we all know, laid these views 
in writing before the Prime Minister, and discussed 
them with him very fully during the two following 
days.^ He laid them in memoranda and in conversa- 
tions. As the talk went on the new proposal varied 
now and again in detail, but it remained always the 
same in essence. Mr. Lloyd George never disputed 
the supreme control of the Prime Minister: he even 
agreed to the final control of the Cabinet — for he had 
not yet ventured so far as to propose a supreme War 
Cabinet. 

It is quite clear that Mr. Lloyd George's proposal 
startled and alarmed Mr. Asquith. That great man 
is above all things a constitutionalist; profoundly im- 
passioned for the traditions of English freedom. 
Trained up in parliamentary habits, it seemed abhor- 
rent to him that any function of supreme control in 
affairs should be divorced from that fount and centre 
of power. It was not for his own personal position, 
we may be sure, that he resisted Mr. Lloyd George's 
proposals. They clashed with all that was deepest in 
his nature. The heir and successor of Pym, Selden, and 
Pitt could not lightly acquiesce in any derogation to 
the authority of Parliament or Cabinet. 

What Mr. Asquith did not see was that new needs 
call for new measures; and that the needs of a war 
such as this, unprecedented in extent and violence, may 
also necessitate remedies without precedent on the 
parchments of the Enghsh statute-books. 

* See the correspondence published in Appendix B. 



PREMIERSHIP 239 

At one stage Mr. i^squlth appears to have agreed 
with Mr. Lloyd George, and Mr. Lloyd George was 
for some time (on Saturday, December 2nd) under 
the impression that the matter was settled on the gen- 
eral lines of his policy. He did not fight for details. 
He was willing to discuss the membership of the Com- 
mittee; but he remained firm on the principle. He 
had already determined to resign rather than fail to 
carry it out.^ But at that moment there seemed no 
necessity for such a step. 

At this stage, however, there stepped into the arena 
those busy friends who, since the days of Job, have 
never been a man's best counsellors. Energy breeds 
•foes; and there were men who were inclined to ask the 
old question: "Who is this man that he should rule 
over us?" These men held up the 'arms of Mr. 
Asquith in his resistance to the pohcy laid down by Mr. 
Lloyd George. 

On the other side there were also friends — friends 
of the Press, certainly not inspired by any amiable 
feelings towards Mr. Asquith. They belonged to a 
section which had always stood honestly and boldly 
for a more active prosecution of the war. It was 
certainly not the fault of Mr. Lloyd George that this 
Press had espoused his cause in all his great efforts 
for the nation; and it was preposterous to expect that 
he should reject their help. A member of a Coalition 
Ministry has no right to keep up old party prejudices 
in his dealings with the Press; and it has always been 
the role of Mr. Lloyd George to be accessible to the 
Press on both sides. It had happened, indeed, that 
only a few weeks before Mr. Lloyd George had had 

*He had taken rooms at St. James's Court. 



g40 THE PRIME MINISTER 

a sharp passage of arms with Lord Northcllffe over the 
question of communications on the Western Front; and 
certainly there was no working alliance between them. 
There was nothing more than a fortuitous temporary 
agreement In regard to the conduct of the war. 

On Monday, December 4th, there appeared in the 
Times an article giving a very clear and accurate sum- 
mary of the negotiations, supported by a "leader" re- 
joicing over the discomfiture of Mr. Asquith.^ It is 
the inveterate habit of British statesmen to listen with 
sensitive ears to the oracles from Printing House 
Square; and Mr, Asquith was no exception to this 
rule. He treated this blow as a thunderbolt. He im- 
mediately, on the morning of Monday, December 4th, 
wrote to Mr. Lloyd George plainly intimating that 
if this was to be the sort of view taken of his agree- 
ment he could not go on. 

When he received this letter Mr. Lloyd George had 
not seen the Times article. He knew nothing about 
it. He certainly did not inspire It. He was as sur- 
prised as Mr. Asquith when he read it. But he has 
always taken a tolerant view as to the acvltles of a 
democratic Press. He wrote back to Mr. Asquith a 
friendly letter deprecating any attention to press at- 
tacks of which he had himself had to endure so many, 
and strongly urging Mr. Asquith not to play into the 
hands of the Times. He — Mr. Lloyd George — 
wanted an agreement. The Times did not. 

But It was too late. Mr. Asqulth's friends urged 
him to act and not to submit to what seemed to him a 
deliberate attempt to destroy his personal prestige. 

*"The conversion has been swift, but Mr. Asquith has never 
been slow to note political tendencies when they beconne inevi- 
table." — Leading article, Times, December 4th, 1916. 



PREMIERSHIP 241 

So on the afternoon he resigned and ended his Govern- 
ment. He acted with absolute correctness. He re- 
ceived authority from the King at once to form a new 
Government; and he wrote at once to Mr. Lloyd 
George. He could, in his view, start now afresh, un- 
hampered by the negotiations of Saturday and Sunday. 

His first condition was that he himself, as Prime 
Minister, must be Chairman of the new War Com- 
mittee. 

The former plan was thus now definitely rejected, 
and a clear challenge was thrown down to Mr. Lloyd 
George — not a personal challenge, but a challenge of 
principle. For Mr. Asquith sincerely and honestly 
held that his was the proper way to control the conduct 
of the war. 

It was, indeed, now for Mr. Lloyd George to de- 
cide, not whether he should resign — for he was no 
longer Minister — ^but whether he should join the new 
Ministry on these terms, which clashed absolutely with 
his own plans. It was plainly impossible that he should 
do so. 

So, still with regret but always quite decisively, on 
December 5th he placed his office at the disposal of 
Mr. Asquith In the formation of his new Ministry. 

He parted from Mr. Asquith with every expression 
of personal regret, and offered his complete support 
of the new Government for the prosecution of the war. 

After that events moved rapidly. On the Sunday 
(December 3rd) the Tory rank and file had met and 
decided not to follow Mr. Lloyd George. But Mr. 
Bonar Law made It clear that In that case they could 
not count on his leadership. He and his friends In 
the old Ministry refused to join the new Ministry 



242 THE PRIME MINISTER 

That made It impossible for Mr. Asquith to succeed. 

The next step was for the King to send for Mr. 
Bonar Law. But the old Liberals, the Labour Party, 
and the Irish NationaHsts refused to serve under his 
Premiership. He did not possess a parliamentary ma- 
jority. It was useless for Mr. Bonar Law to take office 
with a minority following In the House of Commons. 

Mr. Lloyd George, Indeed, urged Mr. Bonar Law 
to make the attempt, and offered to serve under him. 

The King, with a splendid desire for reconciliation, 
called a conference at Buckingham Palace, and tried 
to form a new Coalition Ministry of all parties under 
Mr. Bonar Law. But the thing was impossible. 
Asquith and his friends stood out; Mr. Asquith refused 
the Woolsack. He was contending for what seemed to 
him a definite Issue of parhamentary control, and we can 
scarcely blame him for refusing to be spirited off the 
arena of political conflict, or relegated to a gilded cage. 

It only remained for the King to send for Mr. 
Lloyd George, for he was now the only possible Pre- 
mier. It was clearly his duty to accept the call. It 
was not easy for him to form a Ministry. The rank 
and file of the Tories, still shadowed by Budget memo- 
ries, shrank at first from the Idea of serving under 
so fervent a Radical; but Mr. Bonar Law was de- 
termined to submit all political divisions to the supreme 
issue of the war; and most of the powerful men of 
the party followed his patriotic lead. Many of the lead- 
ing Liberal ex-MInlsters plainly Intimated, through va- 
rious channels, public and private, that they were 
anxious to stand aside ^ ; but most of the capable young 

* Mr. Herbert Samuel was offered office, and refused. Mr. Montagu 
finally joined as Secretary for Ireland. 



PREMIERSHIP 243 

men willingly came along, recognising that at this crisis 
there was a greater thing involved than personal 
loyalty. The Labour Party at first stood aloof. There 
were long conferences at the War Office. But at last 
Mr. Lloyd George won them over by large and frank 
concessions both in policy and share of office. 

Such is a simple narrative of the events which made 
Mr. Lloyd George Premier. Of course there were 
mean and unworthy insinuations^ — of course there were 
men who saw, in this great and dramatic clash of 
Ideas, nothing but the mean and sordid conflict of per- 
sonal ambitions, or the still more squalid combat of 
rival journals. There will always be men with their 
eyes fixed on the ground when great signs are appearing 
in the heavens. 

But to those who have followed this story the event 
will seem to be inevitable. At the given moment Mr. 
Lloyd George took the post of leadership, but he 
only took that post because for at least a year he had 
already been the leader. Great wars always have 
electric effects. For the ruling of such thunder-storms 
there is required a certain temperament of storm. The 
plain fact is that Mr. Lloyd George possessed that 
temperament — and sooner or later he must have been 
called to direct the thunderbolts. 

When he really had the power to shape the machine 
of war after his own ideas, Mr. Lloyd George put 
aside half-measures. He boldly shaped a new instru- 
ment of Government — the War Cabinet as we after- 
wards knew it. That Cabinet was a small body of 
experienced administrators, united by the one tie of 
zeal for their country, who gave their whole energies 



244 THE PRIME MINISTER 

entirely to the conduct of the war. Except for brief 
holidays, they sat daily, and sometimes twice a day. 
Minutes were kept of their proceedings, although their 
speeches were not reported. When any Department 
was concerned, the Minister affected attended himself, 
and took part in the consultations. Thus the Foreign 
Minister was there when there was a discussion of for- 
eign affairs, the Chancellor of the Exchequer on finance, 
and so on. The result was that the departmental 
chiefs were more free for their own administrative 
work, and less worried with the problems of other De- 
partments. On the other hand, there grew up a new 
Civil Service attached to the War Cabinet, and a 
more active machinery for keeping the offices In touch. 

It was confessedly a great experiment — but experi- 
ments are necessary for war. It was certain that that 
other Instrument, the old Cabinet — already showing 
signs of weakness In days of peace — had broken down 
In war; for every revelation, from the Dardanelles to 
Mesopotamia, spoke eloquently of the failure, not so 
much of the men, as of that machine. It met too 
rarely: its proceedings were too cumbrous; there was 
a lack^of concentration; there was a constant scattering 
and diversion of energies. 

There is no room here for vain regrets over the past. 
There Is no space left for old party feuds — and cer- 
tainly not for personal Issues. Both of these men are 
great, distinguished figures, divided only by small 
shadows of honest difference. Those shadows will 
pass; In the light of greater events they will appear 
trifles; and the common need will knit us together. 
The resolution for unity must prevail. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE SAVING OF ITALY 



"Many hot inroads 
They make into Italy." 

Antony and Cleopatra, Act I, Sc. 



At the opening of the year 19 17 the general situa- 
tion -of the World-war in Europe offered fair promise 
for the cause of the Entente Allies. On the Western 
front the immense latent resources of the British Em- 
pire were now coming effectively into play and were 
creating an opportunity for a really serious and formi- 
dable offensive. Tremendously reinforced in men and 
munitions through the powers of the Munitions and 
Military Service Acts, our gigantic armies inspired 
every observer with immeasurable hopes of victory. 
The soldiers themselves were full of that and fresh 
sanguine spirit in which the valour of the British race 
has always expressed itself. France was now recover- 
ing from the grievous losses of men endured in the first 
two years of the war; and the new Generals, men of 
the younger school like NIvelle and Petain, were look- 
ing forward with no less confidence than ourselves to 
the .results of a new Western aggressive on a larger 
and more effective scale. 

But the Western front was only a portion of that 
far-flung line of embattled hosts who were holding back 
the great Teutonic armies from desolating the fairest 

24^ 



246 THE PRIME MINISTER 

regions of Western and Southern Europe. Far away 
across the snowy barriers of the Alps and beyond the 
interval of neutral Switzerland the Italian armies lay in 
caves and trenches stretched from the eastern frontier 
of the Swiss Canton Ticino right across the eastern 
Alps down to the shores of the Adriatic Sea. On the 
west of this hazardous line the Italians still held the 
Austrian armies to the edges of the main Alpine ridge. 
On the east they had pressed them in a series of heroic 
onslaughts through the mountains and across the deep 
valley of the rushing Isonzo. They had captured the 
high and coveted city of Gorizia, and they were threat- 
ening the suburbs of Trieste. They seemed on the 
eve of momentous conquests. But the very achieve- 
ments of their heroic valour, so splendid to the outward 
eye, concealed a perilous and precarious military 
position. 

"No one," said Mr. Lloyd George later on at Paris, 
"can look at these frontier mountains without a thrill 
of respect for the gallantry that has stormed them in 
face of the entrenched legions of Austria." Certainly 
no one who, like the present writer, has escaladed those 
peaks in days of peace. There are no greater episodes 
in this war than those of that titanic, gigantesque con- 
flict amid the mighty jagged precipices and the deep 
gloomy abysses of the Eastern Alps.^ 

But the greater the efl^ort, the greater the exhaustion. 
It is written large in letters of fire and blood across the 
history of the World-war that any excess of human 
loss is in itself one of the gravest of military perils. 
Italy poured out her blood wdthout stint. Alone among 

* Signer Philippo Philippi has brought from this phase of the war 
a iTonderful photographic record which will make its glories lasting. 



THE SAVING OF ITALY 247 

the Allied nations she possessed one organised party — - 
the official Socialists — genuinely opposed to the war. 
Taking advantage of this weakness, the Germans had 
made a special effort to weaken her home front. The 
great industrial centres of the north of Italy — Turin 
and Milan — had been the objective of perhaps the most 
sustained effort of German peace propaganda. The 
missionaries of this strange crusade had crossed the 
Alps by every mountain path and had mixed them- 
selves among the armies, scattering their poisoned 
leaflets among the tired troops. Thus every prepara- 
tion had been made for an easier assault. Like Hanni- 
bal when he crossed the Alps in a greater campaign, 
they had melted the rocks with vinegar. 

The military position, indeed, was not so strong as 
it looked. The right wing of the Italian army was 
lunging forward victoriously, while the centre and left 
were still entangled in the mountains. These things 
were not clear to observers in the west of Europe; 
but there were English visitors* with the Itahan armies 
who became uneasily aware of them. 

In the absence cf any unified control it was impossible 
to take any effective steps to avert the coming danger. 
The British military chiefs had their views about the 
position of the Italian army; many Italians themselves 
had their views. But though these views were platoni- 
cally interchanged there was no machinery by which 
they could be compared and collated, or produce any 
real effect on the course of the campaign. In other 
words, there was no central power of vision or action — 
no active organism that was responsible for the war as 
a whole, right from the North Sea to the Adriatic. As 
Mr. Lloyd George afterwards pointed out in the House 



248 THE PRBIE MINISTER 

of Commons, "there was a sort of feeling that that 
front was not our business." ^ 

This did not, indeed, prevent Mr. Lloyd George 
from using such opportunities as presented themselves 
for urging his views. In January of that year ( 1917) 
there was an important Conference at Rome between 
the Allied Premiers and Generals; and at that Confer- 
ence the whole European situation was surveyed in one 
of the most candid and exhaustive discussions that had 
taken place up to that time. These conversations ex- 
tended over the whole ground, from the political rela- 
tions between Italy and her neighbouring Allies to 
the question of the proper strategy for the Italian fron- 
tier. Mr. Lloyd George boldly placed before that Con- 
ference his own views as to the proper campaign to be 
adopted in the war between Italy and Austria. He 
pointed out the grave dangers to which Italy was ex- 
posed; and his own characteristic remedy was a rein- 
forced aggressive across the Eastern Alps into the 
plains of Austria. That proposal afterwards tenta- 
tively put forward in his Paris speech received much 
foolish ridicule from English critics. If those critics 
would follow the advice of the late Lord Salisbury, 
and study large maps, they would observe that the most 
vulnerable flank of the Central Powers was to be found 
precisely through that very Alpine door north of 
Trieste round which the battle was then raging. While 
Berlin Is remote from the Teutonic frontiers, Vienna 
is dangerously exposed to attack from the south and 
east, and every student of European wars knows that 

* November 20th, 1917. In the same speech Mr. Lloyd George 
delicately expressed the fact that we were aware of the Italian 
peril but unable to find any effective expression for our views, 



THE SAVING OF ITALY 249 

the great captains of war, like Napoleon, have always 
availed themselves of that fact. 

This proposal was a revival In a more modest form 
of Mr. Lloyd George's earlier scheme for seeking a. 
military decision on the Eastern front; and subse- 
quently In his Paris speech he stoutly maintained that 
If there had been in January 19 17 a proper unified 
machinery for military debate and execution the his- 
tory of that year (19 17) might have been different.^ 

But at that time both the Premiers of the Allied na- 
tions and the Generals of the Allied armies were fight- 
ing the war in water-tight compartments. It was not 
yet realised that the Italian front was actually a back 
door to the West. It required more startling events to 
convince the Allies that If either side broke through 
the line at any point, East or West, the whole line 
would be In peril. Until those events occurred there 
was not enough political or military driving power be- 
hind any proposal for unified control. 

So throughout those months from August to October 
1 9 17 the mlhtary control was practically left to each 
set of military chiefs In his own section of the war. 
The communications and consultations between them 
were casual and uncertain; and naturally each set 
played for their own hand. For, other things being 
equal, the first duty of a soldier is the care of his own 
army. In our country It seemed the wisest course for 
the War Cabinet to leave all Important military de- 

*"I should like to be able to read to you the statement submitted 
to the Conference in Rome in January (1917) about the perils and 
possibilities of the Italian front this year, so that you might judge 
it in the light of subsequent events. I feel confident that nothing 
could more convincingly demonstrate the opportunities which the 
Allies have lost through lack of combined thought and action" (No- 
vember i2th, 1917). 



250 THE PRIME MINISTER 

cisions to the military chiefs. The previous Govern- 
ment, indeed, had fortified the Generals with an Order 
in Council which practically gave them strategic con- 
trol. It was considered best for the time being to 
fall In with that arrangement. There was, indeed, no 
alternative. "Never," as Mr. Lloyd George said 
afterwards In the House of Commons, "never In the 
whole history of war in this country have soldiers got 
more consistent and more substantial backing from 
politicians than they have had this year (1917). . . . 
No soldiers In any war have had their strategical dis- 
positions less Interfered with by politicians. There has 
not been a single battalion, or a single gun, moved 
this year except with the advice of the General Staff 
— not one. There has not been a single attack ordered 
In any part of the battlefield by British troops except on 
the advice of the General Staff — not one. There has 
not been a single attack not ordered. The whole cam- 
paign of the year has been the result of the advice of 
soldiers." 

If the sole control of war by military authority was 
to be put to a decisive test, the campaign of 19 17 
supplied a crucial Instance. 

The vital need revealed by that test on the East- 
em front was unity of control. But the same need was 
even earlier revealed on the West also. 

There the year opened with smiling auspices. The 
retreat of the Germans from the Somme Valley and 
the final abandonment of the Verdun attack seemed 
to give the greatest hope for a successful Allied move 
forward against the foe. As at Waterloo, the moment 
seemed to have come to cry "Up Guards and at them !" 
Nor can It be said that there was any hesitation or lack 



THE SAVING OF ITALY 251 

of utmost heroism in the attack when it was delivered. 
On the contrary those attacks of 19 17 displayed British 
and French valour at their highest point. But the want 
of co-operative effort and unified control led to a great 
reduction of war profits in the final balance-sheet of the 
year's efforts. 

Sir Douglas Haig has frankly taken the world into 
his confidence as to the incidents of divided counsel. 
In his pubHshed despatches on those great events he 
has spoken freely. Sir Douglas Haig himself, a dis- 
creet and moderate man, had entertained the highest 
hopes, and had even gone so far as to express them 
through pubhc channels. He was sanguine of a com- 
plete break-through. General Nivelle, the French 
Commander-in-Chief, was almost equally hopeful. It 
is no small gain to great armies when their chieftains 
start out with such high expectations. 

Whether those expectations would have been ful- 
filled if the efforts of the British and French armies had 
been backed by unified control it is now impossible to 
say. But it is quite certain that the want of unity placed 
every obstacle in the way of victory. There were, in- 
deed, shadows of control — scattered, intermittent ef- 
forts to bring the great armies into some form of com- 
bined action. But these efforts lacked authority or 
decision. There was a military conference of Allied 
Generals at the end of 19 16; there was even an agree- 
ment to make a combined attack in Flanders. But 
the decisions of that conference do not seem to have 
carried with them any permanent effect on the Allied 
war councils. Probably the swift movement of events 
made a mockery of such long-laid schemes. At any 
rate, we have the fact that General Nivelle made a 



252 THE PRIME MINISTER 

separate attack in Champagne In the spring of the 
year, with the result that our annies had to delay their 
advance until that great effort was brought to a de- 
cision. 

General Nivelle aimed at a great mark. He, too, 
aspired to break the German lines. He succeeded in 
part, but at a cost of life too great for France at that 
moment. General Nivelle had to pay the price. He 
ceased to be Commander-in-Chief of the French armies. 
His place was taken by General Petain, with the un- 
derstanding that he should adopt a less aggressive 
pohcy. The result was that the British attack was de- 
layed, and when it took place was undertaken alone. It 
achieved great objects, but not so great as had been 
hoped. The August fighting round Lens^ — the Septem- 
ber onslaughts of Haig's armies east and north of 
Ypres, the assault of Passchendaele — all these battles 
displayed the valour of British, Canadian, and Austra- 
lian troops at their highest point. 

But there was no break-through. At the critical mo- 
ment the British armies were checked by the mud and 
rain of the Flanders autumn. Heroism was literally 
choked in slime. The cold and gloom of winter de- 
scended on those splendid British stormers before their 
great task could be achieved. 

Such were the fruits of divided control. 

It was fated that there should blaze out a sign in 
the heavens even more startlingly blood-red before 
the forces of national and army particularism could 
be safely and successfully defied. 

On October 24th (19 17) the Italian eastern front 
was suddenly shaken by a hammer-blow from the Ger- 
man central command. A new army under the redoubt- 



THE SAVING OF ITALY 253 

able Mackensen, secretly assembled behind the screen 
of the mountain ridges, took over the attack from the 
nerveless Austrians.^ This German force made a sud- 
den assault under cover of mist against a weak point in 
the Italian line. They attacked and penetrated the 
Second Italian Army in the neighbourhood of Tolmino 
on the Upper Isonzo. Only one- Italian regiment gave 
way, probably weakened by enemy influences. But at 
such a critical point one was enough. It was like a 
small hole in a great dyke. The flood of German inva- 
sion swept In, and soon began to submerge the plain of 
Venetia. During the following week the Austro-Ger- 
man armies advanced by forced marches from the 
north-east and captured Cividale and Udine. The 
heroic Third Italian Army, conquerors of Gorizia, held 
on to the line of the Isonzo for a time. But they were 
taken in the rear, and it was necessary to command a 
retreat. Those brave regiments — the iVlpIni and the 
Bersaglieri — suddenly fell back, many of them pre- 
ferring annihilation to retirement. The whole host 
rallied on the line of the Tagliamento; but in the terri- 
ble confusion of the great surprise the Italians lost 
300,000 men and 2,000 guns. 

Italy was now faced with a fearful peril. It was 
already clear that the line of the Tagliamento could 
not be held; it was uncertain whether any other hne 
could be held. For if the Germans and Austrians could 
attain mastery of the Alps to the north every one of 
those river lines of Venetia would be outflanked; the 
whole northern plain of Italy would be invaded; the 
exquisite prize of Venice and the great industrial cities 

^ Ludendorff's War Memories, Vol. II, pp. 497-99. He reveals that 
the attack was undertaken to prevent the collapse of Austria Hungary. 



254 THE PRIME MINISTER 

of Turin and Milan would fall as victims to the spear 
of the enemy. Southern Italy would be cut off from 
the Western Allies; and, indeed, the whole peninsula 
would be in danger, and with it our own naval hold 
on the Mediterranean Sea, None of the Western 
Allies could be indifferent to the threat of such 
calamities. 

Mr. Lloyd George determined in a moment that 
Britain could not stand by indifferent. He resolved at 
once that he would not be responsible for a repetition of 
the calamities which had overwhelmed Serbia and 
Rumania. The year 19 17 should not close as 19 15 
and 191 6 had closed — with the head of a kingdom on 
a charger presented to the German Herod, 

But it was necessary to act instantly. There was not 
a moment to be lost. Mr. Lloyd George decided to 
go to Italy; and he resolved to go armed with new 
powers of central control for the conduct of the war. 
He had made up his mind that it was at last necessary 
to relieve the Generals of their divided responsibiHties 
by establishing a definite organism of central control. 

Before starting for Italy he prepared and passed 
through the British Cabinet a document drawing up in 
a series of resolutions the constitution of a new cen- 
tral council for the conduct of the war. With that in 
his pocket he started to meet the AUied Premiers and 
Generals at the little seaside town of Rapallo, a gem 
to the east of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. 

At that meeting he passed the resolutions contained 
in that document almost without an alteration, so ready 
were the French and Italians now to consent to any 



THE SAVING OF ITALY 256 

scheme for increasing the power of central decision.^ 

That was the first step in setting up the Versailles 
Council. 

From Rapallo Mr. Lloyd George proceeded to 
Turin and Milan, everywhere encouraging the Italians 
and promising them speedy aid. He went as far as 
Peschiera, where he met the young Italian King, whose 
Heroic devotion to his armies has rightly earned him 
the fervent love of true Italy. Mr. Lloyd George dis- 
cussed fully with him all the details of the assistance 
that should be sent. Then with all speed he proceeded 
to organise and expedite the arrival of British and 
French reinforcements. Within a few days French 
and British infantry and artillery were speeding 
through the Monte Cenis tunnel to Italy. 

For the moment, indeed, there was no need to bring 
the new powers of the Rapallo Conference into force. 
It was, at any rate, clear to every mind at this crisis 
that the whole front was one. It was apparent to any 
one who glanced at the map of Europe that the con- 
quest of Italy by Germany would shake the whole 
Allied combination. It was obvious to the French, at 
any rate, that it might bring Germany to the back 
door of France. 

Faced with such possibilities, British and French 
Generals vied with one another in helping Italy. What 
divisions could be spared from the Western front were 
spared. The young men of Western Europe marched 
through the vineyards and maize-fields of those beauti- 

^"In substance it was the document prepared here, discussed line 
by line in the Cabinet, and which I had in my pocket after the last 
Cabinet meeting which was held a few hours before I left" (No- 
vember 2oth, 1917. Mr. Lloyd George's speech in the House of 
Commons). 



256 THE PRIME MINISTER 

ful plains of Northern Italy in the waning autumn to 
the help of the Italian armies now pressed back to 
the Piave. The coming of this help put new heart 
into the Italians. As our British boys advanced 
through the little white villages between Milan and 
the front they were greeted as crusaders. They were 
met by cascades of flowers from the joyful villagers, 
now recovering from the terror of a cruel invasion. 
For it was known by the Italians that the Germans were 
sending even Turkish and Bulgarian soldiery to the 
invasion of the fair Itahan provinces. 

So sustained and fortified — with such a sense of 
comradeship behind and beside them — the Italian regi- 
ments rallied. Along the line of the Piave they put 
up that splendid resistance which redeemed the name 
of Italy and inspired their people with a new strength 
and unity. To the north, among the mountains, they 
were helped by French and English battahons, thus 
forging between the peoples of Italy and Western 
Europe new links imperishable and without price. 

Certainly so far the principle of unified control was 
justified by its results. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE VERSAILLES' COUNCIL 

"Besides, he says, there are two councils held; 
And that may be determined at the one 
Which may make him and you to rue at the other." 

Shakespeare's Richard III, Act III, Sc. ii. 

Italy was saved for the time; but if it was to be 
saved for all time, and if other dangers were to be 
averted, it was not enough to pass resolutions at 
AUied Conferences. The proceedings at Rapallo must 
be followed up by more effective action. 

Mr. Lloyd George has always the instinct in his 
heart that no public purpose can be thoroughly 
achieved without the help of the peoples concerned. 
He is above all things a "crowd-compeller." It was 
now his imperious instinct that he should appeal from 
a secret conference to the great peoples of Western 
Europe. It was his powerful conviction that he must 
take them into his counsel as to the reasons for a new 
centralisation of war control — in short, that he must 
appeal over the heads of the Governments to the 
nations. 

If the new Versailles Council was to be anything 
more than an Aulic assembly, forcibly-feeble, strenu- 
ously impotent, it was necessary to rally behind it all 
the great democratic forces of the Western world. It 
was urgent to give it a new authority derived directly 

257 



258 THE PRIME MINISTER 

from the peoples. If this was to be achieved the 
peoples must be given a franker explanation of the 
strategy of the war, of the reasons for failure, and the 
motives for a new poliqr. 

These are the reasons why, quite deliberately, Oii 
the way home from Rapallo, on November 12th, 19 17, 
Mr. Lloyd George made that remarkable speech at 
Paris which was perhaps the frankest utterance of the 
war.^ 

This Paris speech fluttered all the dovecots of 
Europe, and some of the eagles' nests as well. It 
seemed to come as a caprice, a child of sudden impulse, 
from the brain of the British Premier. And yet the 
speech was most carefully prepared; a copy of it was 
sent to the War Cabinet in time for correction in case 
of need; it was handed over for interpretation before 
being uttered.^ 

There was nothing sudden about it. For the speech 
represented the slowly matured results of two years of 
observation, the fruits of prolonged meditation on the 
events of the war. 

The step towards unity which was the central point 
of the speech represented his profoundest conviction 
on the strategy of the war. 

^ See his House of Commons defence (November 19th). 

"But I was afraid of this. Here was a beautifully drafted docu- 
ment in which you had concerned a considerable number of men, 
including a distinguished soldier — for a member of the General 
Staff was one who was most helpful to me in drafting the document — 
prepared, carried by the Allies at two or three conferences. Noth- 
ing happens, simply an announcement in the papers that at least we 
had found some means of co-ordination. There has been too much 
of that. I made up my mind to take risks. . . ." 

*"I considered it carefully. ... If that speech was wrong I 
cannot plead any impulse. I cannot plead that it was something 
I said in the heat of the moment. I had considered it, and I did 
so for a deliberate purpose." (House of Commons Defence, November 
19th). 



THE VERSAILLES COUNCIL 259 

Ever since the beginning of the war, indeed, Mr. 
Lloyd George had been an international as well as a 
patriot. As in the war itself, so in the Alliances, he 
was always against half-measures. If we were to be 
true Allies of France and Russia — or later on of Italy 
and the United States — then we must always work 
with them hand in hand, take close counsel with them 
as friends, act always together, not as separate States 
but as parts of one common organisation; the real be- 
ginning of a new "League of Nations." From the 
very outset he had no use for national sectarianism; 
he could not understand the idea of a tepid alliance, a 
Laodicean friendship, timorous of mutual help, suspi- 
cious of common counsel, feeble in reciprocal aid. 

His reading of history had taught him that this kind 
of suspicion, especially strong in island countries, had 
been the sleeping sickness, the wasting paralysis, of 
all former mixed European Alliances. It was just 
this same aloofness, this same separatist pursuit of 
national aims, that robbed Marlborough of the fruits 
of his victories. It was precisely the same want of 
common planning that melted all Pitt's alliances like 
wax before the fire of Napoleon's energy. In more 
recent days. It was the similar want of understanding 
between the British and French Generals that pro- 
longed the Crimean War. 

Now he determined to strike while the iron was 
white hot. The fire burned, and he spake with his 
tongue. While the events in Italy were still fresh in 
the memory of Europe he pointed the lesson in vivid 
and biting language. It was certainly the first time 
that such a speech had been uttered at such a half- 
private function — an official luncheon of the Premiers 



260 THE PRIME MINISTER 

arranged to give Him an interval of relaxation in his 
journey back to England. No wonder the orthodox 
were alarmed. 

Frankly and roughly, like a man in a hurry who has 
no time for honeyed speech, Mr. Lloyd George gave 
to the world his own innermost reasons for pressing 
forward the machinery of central control. 

For the Versailles Council was to be a real and not 
a shadow control. He made it clear that he intended 
it to possess a genuine authority over the national 
military staffs. Even so, his proposals did not go sa 
far as America and France desired; for France already 
wished for a Generalissimo, and the United States, be- 
ing too far from the war even to aim at exercising con- 
trol, were frankly willing to delegate the entire military 
power to the men on the spot. 

But, even so, Mr. Lloyd George's plan contained 
the heart of the matter. Every one engaged in the 
controversy was aware that, once the germ of unified 
control was established, it would grow. No local con- 
trol could compete with it. On that main principle 
Mr. Lloyd George was quite clear and definite. He 
stated outright that he would not stay in office unless 
his plan was adopted. "Personally," he said, referring 
to the Rapallo decision, "I had made up my mind that, 
unless some change were effected, I could no longer 
remain responsible for a war direction doomed to 
disaster for the lack of unity." 

Mr. Lloyd George was far too old a bird to have 
any doubt as to what tr6ubles this speech would bring 
on his head. He was speaking, as he himself said, 
"with perhaps brutal frankness at the risk of miscon- 



THE VERSAILLES COUNCIL 261 

ception here and elsewhere," — perhaps even, he ad- 
mitted, at the risk of encouraging the enemy. 

He knew all that. But he also knew that there 
are times when such risks have to be taken. There 
are moments when an electric shock is necessary if 
men are to be really aroused to the duty of change. 
Eyesight, they say, is sometimes restored by a flash 
of sudden light. The same method may remove blind- 
ness of other kinds. 

The new Council, he said, had already started work. 
It must have the support of pubhc opinion if it was 
to have any genuine power. There must be a new 
central strength to resist sectional and national in- 
fluences. What they wanted for victory was not sham 
unity, but real.^ 

The Paris speech was followed by an outcry even 
greater perhaps than Mr. Lloyd George had expected. 
The clamours of offended tradition and convention 
filled the air of London, especially of the London clubs. 
The uproar lasted for a full week, and then it found 
voice in the House of Commons, where Mr. Lloyd 
George was subjected to a kind of impeachment by 
Mr. Asquith and the Opposition leaders. 

"This animal is wicked," wrote the French fabulist; 
"it defends itself." Such seems to be the feeling be- 
hind much of the fury provoked by Mr. Lloyd George 
on such occasions. Such events must be taken with 
tranquillity. The mutual play of criticism and defence 
goes to form the strength of our public life, and Mr. 
Lloyd George is the last man to appeal for mercy. 
Speaking this time in the House of Commons on No- 

* Paris speech. Times, November 13th, 1917. See report in The 
Great Crusade, pp. 151-^2 (Hodder & Stoughton 1918). 



262 THE PRIME MINISTER 

vember 19th he apologised for nothing. He manfully 
stood his ground in defence of the policy of the Ver- 
sailles Council. 

He revealed the important fact that Lord Kitchener 
was the first war-chief who proposed closer co-opera- 
tion between the Allies. Lord Kitchener made that 
suggestion as far back as January 19 15. It was then 
far more difficult to carry out. But the disasters of 
1917 had made it easier. 

He made even a more startling revelation. It was 
that the same proposal had been made in July of that 
very year (1917), not by the statesmen, but by the 
soldiers at a meeting of the Commanders-in-Chief at 
which Sir William Robertson, General Cadorna, and 
General Foch had been all present. So it was not 
true, as suggested in so many quarters, that this was a 
case of civilians forcing an idea of their own upon 
reluctant soldiers. 

Then Mr. Lloyd George passed to that spirited 
personal defence of his Paris speech which has since 
become famous. It was, in many respects, an apology 
which extended to his whole career. It was an expla- 
nation of his own favourite political methods. 

Briefly put, it was that he deliberately made a dis- 
agreeable speech in order to arouse public opinion. It 
was not enough to pass resolutions. What he wanted 
was public support. To obtain that he had resolutely 
and in cold blood set out to give a shock to the public 
mind. 

"It is not easy to rouse public opinion. I may 
know nothing about military strategy, but I do 
know something of political strategy. To get 



JHE VERSAILLES COUNCIL 26S 

public opinion interested in a proposal and to con- 
vince the public of the desirability of it is an 
essential part of poHtical strategy. That is why 
I did it. And it has done it." 

Here is a precise statement of his favourite method 
— the method which he has constantly used from the 
moment of his early defiance of the magistrates in 
North Wales right up to that famous interview of the 
"Knock-out Blow." It may be called the appHcation 
to pohtics of the military method of the "Counter- 
attack." 

The proof of the pudding is, after all, in the eating. 
The result, for instance, of these two speeches — the 
Paris speech and the Commons defence — was so to 
familiarise and popularise the idea of central mihtary 
control that we now read them with some surprise at 
their moderation. We feel some astonishment that 
such apologies should have had to be uttered for a. 
system of unified control which afterwards became a 
commonplace of AlHed strategy. The hammer-blows 
of fate proved even more effective than the power of 
words in the House of Commons. But we must re- 
member that at the moment Mr. Lloyd George was 
beating up against the wind. He had great forces 
working against him both within Parliament and with- 
out. He had to face a remarkable alliance between 
military professional pride, national feeling, and party 
tactics. The triumph of these speeches is that such 
forces have proved so powerless in the upshot against 
the overwhelming case for unity of control. 

But the struggle was now only transferred from the 
debating-chamber to the council-room. There Mr. 



264i THE PRIME MINISTER 

Lloyd George was met with a very resolute opposition 
from a body of military opinion supported by a very 
able and pugnacious Press. The military opinion, at 
any rate, was as honest as it was stubborn. The power 
of great national traditions was linked to the strength 
of professional feehng. It was hard and painful to 
come into conflict with men like Sir William Robertson. 
But the issue had to be fought through; and no Gov- 
ernment would have been worth its salt which allowed 
a great political and international issue to be decided 
by military opinion. Mr. Lloyd George was fighting 
for one of the oldest principles of the British Con- 
stitution when he asserted the final supremacy of 
civihan control. 

Yet it was not remarkable that the debate on this 
issue should have puzzled the minds of many honest 
men. For it raised the old question — should not mat- 
ters of war be left entirely to the soldiers? Those 
who maintain that view seemed to have a very strong 
weight of common sense on their side. For how should 
civilians know anything of war? 

A simple child, 
That lightly draws its breath, 
And feels its life in every limb, 
What should it know of death? 

And is not the civilian a mere child In the fiery matters 
of war? 

In any ordinary war it would seem to be the right 
policy for statesmen to hand purely mihtary matters 
to the soldiers and keep negotiations for themselves. 
The business of the statesman would appear to be to 
stand by as a possible peacemaker; although there have 
been wars which have been not only skilfully conducted 



THE VERSAILLES COUNCIL ^65 

but also wisely concluded by soldiers. Lord Kitchener, 
for instance, was never greater than in the negotia- 
tions which ended the Boer War. 

But this World-war was already seen to be no ordi- 
nary war. If the European side of the war alone had 
been confined to Flanders, then, as in the wars of 
Marlborough, both strategy and statesmanship might 
have been left to the same man; although in that con- 
spicuous case it was the civilian statesman who had 
to intervene before peace could be achieved. But, 
with operations confined and aims defined, the part of 
the civihans often lightly limited to the choice of gen- 
erals and the provision of armies. 

Here, however, was a war in which operations could 
not be confined nor aims defined. Here was a struggle 
already (19 17) limited to no country and to no con- 
tinent; carried on in three elements — earth, sea, and 
air — a conflict enveloping a planet. 

In Europe alone the battle-front stretched across 
the whole Continent from west to east; and Palestine 
and Mesopotamia belonged to the same front as 
Belgium.^ 

Such a war has multitudinous aspects. It has its 
politics as well as its strategy; its tactics of the council- 
room as well as its tactics of thie field. Military de- 
cisions have often to be based on political considera- 
tions; the movements of armies are decided by the 
relations of the Allied countries. Even strategy itself 
is revolutionised; for in such a war strategy stakes 



1 «i 



■'We have gone on talking of the Eastern front and the Western 
front, and the Italian front, and the Salonika front, and the Egypt- 
ian front, and the Mesopotamia front, forgetting that there is but 
one front with many flanks; that with these colossal armies the 
battle-field is continental" (Mr. Lloyd George at Paris, November 
i2th). 



266 THE PRIME MINISTER 

many new forms — there is the strategy of the air as 
well as the strategy of the earth; the strategy of the 
sea as well as the strategy of air. There is the strategy 
of continents as well as the strategy of countries. But 
all through the one distinguishing feature of the whole 
war was that nowhere in any aspect could strategy be 
wholly divorced from statesmanship. 

The Germans recognised this fact throughout. The 
direction of their attacks — east or west — was often 
decided by political motives. War offensives were 
mingled with peace offensives, and the art of Machiavel 
added to the art of Napoleon. The hell's broth at 
Berlin was cunningly brewed of the mingled herbs of 
war and peace. Perhaps it would have been as well 
if sometimes we had given to them the flattery which 
consists in imitation. 

But in Great Britain there has always been a cruder 
division between the soldier and the politician. Just 
as the soldier is suppressed during times of peace so 
the statesman is allowed little say during times of 
war. We have yet to learn from our enemies that 
war is a form of politics, and that neither of the two 
activities of the State can be wholly divided from the 
other. The cry of "Hands off the war!" uttered to 
the statesman is equivalent to a cry of dismissal. 

Mr. Lloyd George, at any rate, was not at all willing 
to accept this impotent conclusion. He was clear that 
if the soldiers were to conduct the whole strateg}'^ of 
the war they must be responsible for the politics of 
the war also. The only conclusion of that logic was 
a mihtary dictatorship. But, to do them justice, none 
of the honest soldiers who contended with him nursed 
ambitions of that kind. The only end to the argument, 



THE VERSAILLES COUNCIL 267 

therefore, was certain to be a vindication of the civil 
power. To win the war, the soldier and the states- 
man must work hand in hand. That was the sound and 
safe line of pohcy along which Mr. Lloyd George 
steadily worked. 

He tried his best to win over those eminent soldiers 
who honestly held the other view and opposed the 
Versailles Council on principle. Sir William Robert- 
son was offered the high position of British representa- 
tive in the Council. From reasons which did him 
nothing but credit — reasons of honest conviction — he 
refused the position and took instead the Eastern Com- 
mand. Another soldier. Sir Frederick Maurice (Di- 
rector of Military Operations on the Army Council) 
carried his opposition further on retirement from the 
Council. He wrote a letter to the Press openly dis- 
puting the accuracy of certain statements made by the 
Prime Minister in the House of Commons. Mr. Lloyd 
George offered a Court of Judges to try the case; but, 
on Mr. Asquith preferring a Committee of the House 
of Commons, Mr. Lloyd George decided to vindicate 
his own accuracy before the House of Commons itself. 
The result of his defence was that he obtained an over- 
whelming majority as a vote of confidence in himself 
and his Government. But it was necessary for the 
Army Council to vindicate discipline; and Sir Fred- 
erick Maurice was retired on half-pay. 

Painful as this incident was to all who had regard 
for an honourable and high-minded soldier, It was a 
necessary and salutary assertion of civilian control over 
military. 

British opinion, at any rate, steadily supported Mr. 
Lloyd George. Events at the front soon bore out 



268 THE PRIME MINISTER 

only too clearly the soundness of his views. It was 
noted that in the battle of St. Quentin the German 
armies stuck at the link between the British and the 
French forces with the sure instinct that there they 
would find the weakest point. The moral was only 
too obvious. Control must not be less united, but 
more. Without a protest from any responsible quar- 
ter in Great Britain the famous Frenchman, General 
Foch, was in 191 8 appointed Generalissimo on the 
Western front. 

Thus the policy of Rapallo triumphed, and the unity 
of control was attained. 



CHAPTER XXII 

VICTORY 

"O God! Thy arm was here; 
And not to us, but to Thy arm alone, 
Ascribe we all." 

Shakespeare's Henry V , Act IV, Sc. viii. 

The last year of the Great War was undoubtedly 
the most critical and momentous year in the modern 
history of these islands. By an amazing combination 
of events, Western Europe was subject to a suddeil re- 
vival of extreme peril exceeding in violence the menace 
of 19 14. Looking back from the security of the 
present time (1920) it is easy to underrate the threat 
of that great attack by the Central Powers: and, in- 
deed, in our present discussions there is an almost 
perilous oblivion of the dangers through which we have 
passed. But those who study the memoirs of the 
German War Leaders, which have poured out since 
the close of the war,^ will realise the complete con- 
fidence of the German General Staff in the victory 
which seemed to lie ahead of them, as the natural 
climax to the series of smashing blows which they 
had delivered to their enemies during the two previous 
years (1916-17). 

*The Memoirs of Von Tirpitz and Falkenhayn, and last, but 
not least, the frank and outspoken War Memories of General 
Ludendor£ 

269 



270 THE PRIME MINISTER 

General Ludendorff finds the chief reason for the 
German defeat in the war spirit which had been 
aroused in England under the leadership of Mr. Lloyd 
George, and in France by the inspiration of M. 
Clemenceau. Neither of those leaders would admit 
that they alone could have achieved so great a triumph 
for liberty over the menace of militarism. It was 
the spirit of the peoples of France and Great Britain 
that really achieved resounding victory — the peoples 
who shrank from no sacrifice and faced every trial 
rather than accept defeat. I have in my memory the 
spectacle of a regiment of boys of eighteen and nine- 
teen — London boys, freshly plucked from the counter 
and the van — whom I met one evening, at the height 
of the crisis in the spring of 191 8, marching to be en- 
trained from Norfolk to Northern France. "Shall 
we win the war?" shouted one half of them, and the 
other half replied with an echoing shout — "Yes!" 
Those youths had been cut off from all leave and were 
being plunged into the firing-line at a few hours' notice. 
They went singing to almost certain death. They were 
the fit crusaders of a race that never contemplated 
defeat; and no man who had such a people behind 
him could vainly boast of his own single achievements. 

Yet leadership counts for much, and vainly do the 
masses struggle if those at the top weaken and faint. 
There is no greater misfortune that can befall a race 
than failure of valour and resolution in high places. 
It was because Mr. Lloyd George kept, in the utmost 
stress of those events, his courage undimmed and his 
spirit unshaken, that he has rightly earned so large a 
part in the credit of victory. 

Another scene comes back to me from those dark 



VICTORY 271 

days. I was standing in front of one of tlie large- 
scale maps at Downing Street, noting the point reached 
by the German legions in one of those tremendous and 
determined efforts to drive us into the sea during the 
April of 19 1 8. There was the sound of a step behind 
us, and suddenly we turned to find the Prime Minister 
also observing the map with a close and concentrated 
gaze. We knew that things were serious, and that 
there were influences at the centre in favour of with- 
drawing our armies from France. But of all the com- 
pany he was the serenest. "Serious? Yes!" he said. 
"But by no means desperate. Look here !" and he 
pointed to the north of Calais. "We can flood that 
area if necessary. Then, if they drive us south of 
Calais, we can still hold on. France is a large place, 
and it has many ports. Retire from France? No, we 
will stand by our Allies to the last!" And he went 
away singing, as undismayed as those boys whom I had 
seen marching to France. A worthy leader of a worthy 
nation! 

On another day I remember him describing to me a 
visit he had paid to the fighting line at the most critical 
moment of that great peril. He spoke with flashing 
eyes. "We motored," he said, "from the coast right 
up to the fighting front, and we did not meet a single 
British soldier in flight. Not one had turned his back 
to the enemy, not one!" Yet during that time the 
German guns were enfilading our trenches lined with 
English boys, and the chance of survival in that defence 
without death or injury had been reduced almost to the 
point of zero. 

What was the cause of this last and most perilous 
phase? It was the collapse of Russia, produced by 



272 THE PRIME MINISTER 

the Bolshevist coup d'etat in Petrograd on November 
7th, 19 1 7. On that day, Lenin achieved the purpose 
for which the Germans had given him his passports into 
Russia. He destroyed Kerensky, who combined revolu- 
tion with national war, and he substituted a policy 
of international peace combined with civil war. Both 
edges of that policy were sharpened to the destruction 
of Russia as a war power, and on December 20th Mr. 
Lloyd George warned the House of Commons that 
the collapse of Russia, following on the Italian defeat, 
would require a new and still greater output of man- 
power by Great Britain. A Bill for that purpose was 
introduced into the House of Commons on January 
14th, abolishing almost the last exemptions from mih- 
tary service. Events in Russia moved swiftly. On 
November 21st the Bolshevists made to the Germans 
a definite proposal for armistice, and peace negotiations 
began at Brest-Litovsk on December 2nd. The Bol- 
shevists twice broke up the Constituent Assembly at 
Petrograd by force of arms. The Germans put for- 
ward peace terms of such severity that even the Bol- 
shevists were dismayed, and Trotsky attempted to de- 
clare peace without signing the treaty. Thereupon the 
Germans advanced their armies into Russia, meeting 
with no resistance, and occupying Minsk in the north 
and Kieff in the south. Powerless in the face of this 
invasion, the Bolshevists signed the peace treaty on 
March 2nd, surrendering Lithuania, Finland, the 
LTkraine, Poland, and the Baltic Provinces, promising 
demobilisation of their armies and internment of their 
ships. Russia was out of the war. On March 5th the 
Germans followed this up by signing peace with Ru- 
mania, and on March 6th they signed peace with Fin- 



VICTORY 273 

land. Their great armies in the East of Europe were 
now free to work their will on the West. 

Ludendorff has told us that even then there was 
some debate among the German military chiefs be- 
tween the policy of defence in the West and the policy 
of attack. But Mr. Lloyd George saw clearly that the 
Germans would be obliged to attack. They were com- 
pelled by the logic of the blockade. With all her 
feverish triumphs in the East of Europe, Germany was, 
at that moment, in a parlous plight. She was in the 
position of a besieged city. She had either to break 
out or to surrender. The fearful ravage which she 
perpetrated in Rumania and the Ukraine, and in the 
western provinces of Russia also, were really the meas- 
ure of her need. Food and materials were more 
necessary for her at that moment than military 
triumphs, and she hastened to cash all her victories into 
material produce of one kind or another. Like a hun- 
gry tiger, she devoured her prey. But there were other 
beasts afoot in Eastern Europe at the same time, and 
we know now that the division of the loot caused ex- 
treme bitterness between Germany and Austria- 
Hungary, and that the resentment of the Ukraine 
forced Germany to keep troops in the East of Europe 
which might have struck the decisive blow in the West. 
Such is the Nemesis of greed. 

But still Germany could realise immediately over 
2,000,000 new fighting men for the grand sortie now 
planned on the Western Front, and Ludendorff has 
told us how quickly and strenuously he trained the 
troops for thisi gigantic effort. The blow came on 
March 2 1 St, against the Third and Fourth British 
Armies between the Scarpe and the Oise. Forty Ger- 



274 THE PRIME MINISTER 

man divisions attacked, and on the second day, the 
22nd, there was a break through west of St. Quentin. 
On the following days the British line had to with- 
draw nearly fifteen miles, back to the line of the 
Somme, losing prisoners all the way, but inflicting very 
heavy losses on the attacking division. The British 
line was broken, but not the British Army. During 
the following days the German divisions steadily 
poured through the gap, crossing the Somme, capturing 
Albert and Mezieres, some 90,000 British prisoners, 
and over 1,300 guns. 

The peril opened by this event both to France and 
the British Empire lasted for four months, and during 
that period there was scarcely a day on which the strain 
was relaxed. Colossal issues were at stake, and among 
the chief was whether the British Empire should sur- 
vive. Mr. Lloyd George rose to the height of the crisis 
at once, and kept on the summit until the close. Day 
by day he never relaxed his energy or his courage. He 
did not abate, in those dark days, one jot of heart or 
hope. There was no resource or reserve of national 
strength which he did not bring to bear. There was 
no device that he left untried. It is easy to speak of 
the hurricane and storm when you have reached har- 
bour, but there is little doubt that, unless we had had a 
good captain on the bridge, the great ship "British 
Empire" would have foundered. 

He envisaged the problem in two ways — strategy 
and numbers. He saw the Allied Forces faced by over- 
whelming myriads of Teuton troops, combined under 
one central command. To resist this assault he was 
more than ever of the opinion that the defenders also 
must be placed under one command, and he carried his 



VICTORY 276 

faith to the full logic of his conclusion. In April he 
agreed to the appointment of General Foch as supreme 
Commander of the Allied Forces. It was a step in- 
volving great risks and great faith. Fortunately Sir 
Douglas (now Lord) Ilaig agreed with Mr, Lloyd 
George, and played the game to the full, like the great 
soldier he was. Otherwise the thing could not have 
been done. The trial came for the British when, as 
the crisis deepened, Marshal Foch began to exercise 
his full powers, and to withdraw from the direction of 
the coast great British forces which had been placed 
there in reserve for the protection of the British line 
and the security of the Channel. 

Like all great commanders, Foch himself had to take 
risks and to meet the German concentrations by great 
concentrations on his own side. For this purpose he 
had to wield full power over both British and French 
Armies, and he exercised it to the full in the great 
battles of that summer. It was an anxious time for 
the British Government. But Mr. Lloyd George had 
taken the full measure of Foch as a soldier: he fully 
believed in him, and he went to the whole extent of his 
faith. A working arrangement was come to by which 
Mr. Lloyd George went over to meet Clemenceau and 
Foch at Paris periodically, and the supreme conduct of 
the war was now in the hands of these three men. 
So far for the strategy which governed the great battles 
of that summer. 

Then for numbers. Mr. Lloyd George saw in a 
moment that, unless drastic and exceptional measures 
were taken the Allied Forces would simply be snowed 
under by the hosts of the enemy. To meet this danger 
the natural counter-measure was to throw across the 



276 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Channel all the troops in England sufficiently trained 
to go into the shock of battle. For this purpose he 
was obliged to suspend all the usual age limits from 
active foreign service and to send across the Channel 
the great army of youths enlisted under the Conscrip- 
tion Act, and hitherto prepared only for home defence. 
These great forces streamed across in the months of 
April, May, and June, and did something to fill up the 
gaps in the line. But as the weeks went by Mr. Lloyd 
George perceived that the British reinforcements alone 
would be unequal to the great task. The Germans 
were still straining every nerve, and they were fighting 
against time. Our Government could not precisely 
tell how many reserves the Germans still possessed, 
or how many men they could spare from their Eastern 
Front. The Germans were working on the calculation 
that the Americans could not come across till 19 19 or 
1920, and their submarines were operating feverishly 
to keep up the alarm on the Atlantic Ocean. The 
Americans themselves were too far removed from the 
scene of danger to realise at once the greatness of the 
emergency. But they only required the S.O.S. signal. 
Mr. Lloyd George determined to give it. 

One morning that spring he made up his mind. 

"We have to get 500,000 Americans over in four 
months, at the rate of 1 25,000 a month. How can that 
be done?" That was the problem as he saw it and 
as he expressed it. He began to send a series of tele- 
grams to President Wilson through Lord Reading, 
explaining to Mr. Wilson the peril and the need of 
instant help. President Wilson immediately grasped 
the crisis. Mr. Lloyd George organised the Navy and 
the Merchant Service for the work of transport on 



VICTORY 277 

the British side of the Atlantic, and President Wilson 
did the same on his side. So began that great Armada 
of help from the New World. The American divisions 
poured across the Atlantic, overcrowded on their trans- 
ports, packed almost to suffocation, but willing to 
suffer all things in the great crusade on which they 
were bent. The Americans, indeed, did far better 
than the British Government had expected. They sent 
a million men. It was a magnificent performance, and 
must ever be remembered to the credit of that great 
nation. 

Then President Wilson and Mr. Lloyd George, act- 
ing together, went one step further. When the Ameri- 
can troops arrived many of them were instantly bri- 
gaded with the British and French forces, and so they 
learnt with the greatest rapidity possible all the craft 
and ruses necessary for modern warfare. They did 
their utmost to acquire in a few months all those new 
arts of destruction which it had taken Europe years to 
evolve. To achieve this, for the time they gave up 
America's great dream of a national army. But, after 
all, the greatest fact of all was their arrival. 

Meanwhile, during these weeks of suspense and 
endeavour the German armies had struck again and 
again in the last desperate campaign for victory. 
Through April, May, and June the issue still hung in 
the balance. 

The second great attack on April 4th, when 
twenty German divisions, advancing towards Amiens, 
attempted to divide the British Armies from the 
French. That attack came very near to success. We 
all know how the Germans arrived at positions from 
which they could bombard Amiens and paralyse the 



278 THE PRIME MINISTER 

communications, and it Is blazed on the records of 
fame how the armies of the British Empire — men from 
Australia and Canada — held the line at Villers- 
Brettoneux, and by their invincible blending of defence 
and attack kept the assailing German divisions from 
achieving their purpose. 

A few days later a new attack developed, this time 
farther north, west of Lille. From the British point of 
view this was the most menacing attack of all. It was 
a determined attempt to drive the British armies into 
the sea. On April loth Armentleres was occupied and 
the bloodstained Ridge of Messlnes crossed. On the 
15th Bailleul was taken, and on the 25th the attack 
came to a climax with the capture of Kemmel Hill 
under the eyes of the German Emperor. Yet the Ger- 
mans could not gain the decision they require. The 
British troops gave ground, but always fought on. The 
line bent, but It did not break. 

But, as the weeks went on, the British Government 
replied In stern deeds which the whole British people 
supported. Not only did the younger men stream 
across the Channel, but the older men lined up to 
take their places. It was on March 9th that Mr. 
Lloyd George Introduced that last and tremendous 
Mihtary Service' Act, raising the age to fifty, with a 
reserve possibility of fifty-five, and threatening to ex- 
tend conscription to Ireland. Such extreme measures 
became In the result unnecessary: but partly because the 
British people showed that they were possible. 

Ludendorff has described to us the gradual waning 
of his hopes ^ in face of the unbroken resolution of the 

* War Memories (Hutchinson & Co., London), Vol. II, pp. 613-4 for 
decline of morale, pp. 643-5 for effect of our propaganda. 



VICTORY 279 

British people under Mr. Lloyd George, the swift 
dying off in the fire of battle of all their best troops, 
and the failing of human morale which took place un- 
der the stress of those costly onslaughts. There is no 
more dramatic story in history than his account of the 
way in which the revolutionary poison which the Ger- 
mans had inoculated into Russia by the sending of 
Lenin returned back into the German Army and grad- 
ually destroyed by its discipline and undermined Its de- 
sire for victory.^ But there is another side to that story. 
Ludendorff describes, without apparently understand- 
ing the significance of his narrative, the way in which 
his troops, when they had captured a position, would 
spend the precious minutes In overhauling and devour- 
ing the stores of food which they found. ^ He seems to 
regard that as merely a sign of the weakening of mili- 
tary discipline. But the plain fact is that hunger has 
no respect for discipline; and it was hunger that was 
eating at the vitals of the German nation — hunger and 
want of all the essentials of v/ar. The blockade was 
completing the work of our armies. For our prisoners 
found that the Germans were lacking In the most ele- 
mentary medical necessities and that their transport had 
reached a point of decay which made It almost impossi- 
ble for them properly to feed and maintain their armies. 
Ludendorff blames the German nation for not sup- 
porting the German Army, but the fact is that this was 
not a war of armies, but a war of nations. The Ger- 
man Army was still capable of great deeds, but the 
German nation behind was stricken to the heart. 
Therefore, the strength of the Army, which drew its 

*Vol. II, pp. 642-4, 767-9- ""Vol. II, p. 611. 



280 THE PRIME MINISTER 

vitality from the nation, was rapidly waning even in 
those moments of victory. 

With his instinctive insight for the real facts of the 
situation, Mr. Lloyd George saw that even in the 
darkest hour here was the governing issue — which na- 
tion could hold out the longest. So now he set himself, 
with all his great powers, to hearten and encourage 
both the peoples and the Armies in France and Great 
Britain. He kept travelling between London and Paris, 
attending the meetings of the Versailles Council, visit- 
ing the armies at the front, and exchanging cheerful 
messages between the fighting men and the civilians. 
On the day Bailleul was captured, April 15th, he boldly 
declared that we had lost "nothing vital." On May 
3rd he returned from the Versailles Council with a mes- 
sage from the troops to the nation at home — "Be of 
good cheer. We are all right!" 

But the crisis was by no means at an end. In May 
there came a third German attack, this time towards 
Paris, and before it was broken it had driven the British 
and French armies across the Aisne and the Marne and 
had come within almost thirty miles of Paris. Those 
were anxious days. But the lure of Paris was again to 
prove fatal to the German Army. Foch withdrew his 
armies only to prepare for a fiercer spring. "My left 
is driven back, and my right Is driven back. I shall 
attack with my centre !" was his famous utterance. The 
Germans were drawn perilously on, until with a sudden 
smashing blow on July i8th Foch crumpled up the right 
side of the phalanx which they were driving towards 
Paris. Ludendorff tells us that, even after that unex- 
pected defeat, the German Staff still cherished hopes 
of victory towards the north, although, to all outside 



VICTORY 281 

observers, their aggressive powers seemed to be ex- 
hausted. 

It was the attack on August 8th of the British and 
French troops together, aided by an army of tanks, 
storming the German lines east of Amiens, that came 
to Ludendorff as the final blow to his hopes. From 
that time onward, until November, is one long story of 
unbroken victory for the Allies. But it was victory 
dearly purchased by blood and endurance; for the Ger- 
man armies retired sullenly and inflicted heavy casual- 
ties.^ We must not underrate the heroism of those 
months. It is no small thing that the armies endured 
to the end. It is clear, from the memoirs of the Ger- 
man chiefs, that they were still looking eagerly for any 
sign of weakness, and that the smallest symptom of 
war-weariness would have led to a renewal of German 
hopes. Mr. Lloyd George saw this clearly, and never 
to the end did he give way to boasting. "The worst 
is over," he said at Manchester on September 12th, 
"but the end is not yet." 

We know now from Ludendorllf that suggestions for 
an armistice were made by him to the German Govern- 
ment immediately after August 8th. But at first the 
civilian power, under Count Hertling, the German 
Chancellor, and his successor Hintze, was inclined to 
hold out. It was not until after the smashing up of 
Bulgaria on September i6th, ending with its surrender 
on the 30th, that Hintze resigned and gave place to 
Prince Max of Baden. It was now the turn of the 
German mihtary chiefs to resist the civilians in their 

^ There were seven distinct great battles after August 8th — 
Bapaume, Epehy, two battles of Cambrai, Courtrai, Selle, and 
Valenciennes. 



282 THE PRIME MINISTER 

passion for surrender. For Ludendorff was in favour 
of a final rally, whilst Prince Max was resolute to make 
peace. 

It was to President Wilson that Prince Max made 
his overtures for an armistice based on the Fourteen 
Points/ and the negotiations continued all through Oc- 
tober. No one who lived through those days will for- 
get the high, austere dignity of the American Presi- 
dent's replies, which fell on the German Government 
and people with all the inexorable force of impartial 
justice. He insisted that the Germans should leave all 
invaded soil, that they should tease their barbarisms on 
land and sea, and that the terms of Armistice must be 
such as to make a renewal of hostilities impossible.- 

President Wilson carried the correspondence with 
Prince Max as far as he could without being in control 
of the armies, and then he telegraphed the letters to the 
Governments of his Allies in Europe. Mr. Lloyd 
George at once saw the practical peril of the new sit- 
uation. It was that the German military chiefs might 
use the Armistice for a recovery of strength, and 
Ludendorff's Memoirs show that he had full justifica- 
tion for that fear.^ He resolved at once that the only 
safe armistice would be one of complete disarmament, 
and with that policy in his mind he went to Paris to 
meet M. Clemenceau and Marshal Foch. There at 
Versailles a full historic conference of all the Allies 
took place, and lasted a fortnight. The European Al- 
lies modified President Wilson's terms on certain essen- 
tial points. Great Britain excluded the control of the 

* See Appendix D for the Fourteen Points. 
^American Note of October 23rd, 1918. 

'Page 721. The armistice terms were to permit a "resumption of 
hostilities on our own borders." 



VICTORY 283 

seas from the sphere of negotiations, and France in- 
sisted on a wider interpretation of President Wilson's 
reparation demand. President Wilson agreed to both 
these modifications. 

Then the Versailles Council passed to their imme- 
diate practical conditions. Marshal Foch insisted that 
the Germans must ask for an Armistice in the ordinary 
military way from himself, the Allied Commander. 
That being agreed, the terms were framed — and they 
were pretty drastic terms. The German armies must 
retire across the Rhine and must be demobilised. Ger- 
man guns and ships must be surrendered.^ In fact, 
Germany must be rendered incapable of resuming the 
war. Only on those terms was an Armistice possible 
with an enemy who had given such dire proofs of ill- 
faith. 

Faced with these terrible terms, Ludendorff made a 
last effort to rally Germany to a final war of defence. 
But he was too late. He himself had fatally weakened 
the German fighting power when he suggested negotia- 
tions in August. Then the civihans had protested. But 
now that they had been converted to peace, nothing 
could make Germany face the guns again. Their mih- 
tary strength suddenly collapsed. Turkey surrendered 
on October 31st, and Austria-Hungary on November 
4th. The bell of doom had begun to toll. 

On November 4th the German Government made a 
final effort to command their fleet on to the high seas. 
But the fleet mutinied, and from that mutiny a revolu- 
tion began in Hamburg which soon spread over Ger- 
many. On November 7th the British troops entered 

Five thousand guns and 30,000 machine guns, 5,000 locomotives, 
22 big ships, and 50 destroyers. 



284 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Valenciennes: on the 8th Prince Max resigned and was 
succeeded by Herr Ebert. On the 9th the Kaiser ab- 
dicated and fled into Holland. On that day the Ger- 
man envoys were received by Foch at his headquarters 
and the new German Repubhc accepted the terms of 
Armistice. On the morning of the nth the Canadians 
entered M«ons, that little town where firing had opened 
more than four years before, and precisely at 1 1 o'clock 
on that very morning the Armistice began. There was 
a sudden stillness from the North Sea to the frontier 
of Switzerland. 

"Germany Is doomed!" cried Mr. Lloyd George, 
speaking at the Mansion House on November 9th; 
and he proved a true prophet. 

The Allies had won the war. . . . 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE PEACE CONFERENCE 

"War or peace, or both at once." 

Shakespeare's Henry IV, Act V, Sc. ii. 

The colossal strain of the last year of the Great 
War left both Ministers and peoples of the conquering 
Allies in a state of profound exhaustion. So near had 
been the peril of defeat that for a time it was scarcely 
possible to realise the fact of victory. For the first 
two weeks after the Armistice of November nth, 
191 8, London, Paris, and New York were given over 
to a delirium of rejoicing such as the world never be- 
fore witnessed. Mr. Lloyd George, speaking from the 
windows of Downing Street on the day of the Armis- 
tice, told the people plainly that they had a right to 
rejoice. He rejoiced with them. 

But gradually, as the days passed, the world woke 
to the fact that the Armistice was only the opening 
of a new phase in the crisis of change. The Armistice 
terms imposed on Germany by the Allies had left her 
prone and helpless. She could not resume the fighting. 
Both the Central Empires were beaten and broken. 
The Emperors and the Kings were in flight. But the 
world could not be left to live in a vacuum. Desolation 
is not peace. Europe was like a shattered puzzle which 
had to be pieced together again before humanity could 

285 



286 THE PRIME MINISTER 

resume Its normal life. It was urgent that a Confer- 
ence should be summoned speedily both to make peace 
and to settle the future governance of the world. 

There were some necessary delays. President Wil- 
son came swiftly to Europe; but before attending the 
Conference he wished to consult the Governments of 
the Allies and to visit their capitals. He arrived in 
Paris on December 13th, and visited both Rome and 
London. His presence was acclaimed everywhere by 
enthusiastic multitudes, possessed by a great hope that 
the New World had truly come to redress the balance 
of the Old. 

There was also the British General Election, which 
Mr. Lloyd George deemed necessary to confirm and 
strengthen his position at the Conference as spokesman 
for Great Britain. No time was lost. The General 
Election was announced immediately after the Armis- 
tice. Nominations were taken on December 4th after 
a very brief election campaign; the polls were held 
on one day, December 14th, under the new electoral 
arrangements; and the results were declared on De- 
cember 28th. The result was an overwhelming vote 
for Mr. Lloyd George as the British representative at 
the Conference, and as the mandatory of a strong and 
decisive peace. ^ 

There was some preliminary debate as to the city 
that should be chosen for the Conference. President 
Wilson and Mr. Lloyd George were at first disposed to 
choose a neutral capital; but the claims of France were 
strong. She had borne the territorial brunt of the war. 
So It was agreed that the Conference should meet In 
Paris at first, with the reservation that they should 

*F'or further particulars of the election see Chapter XXIV. 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 287 

afterwards shift to Geneva. But once the huge ma- 
chine of counsel was settled In Paris It was found im- 
possible to move It. In spite of the preponderant 
power thus given to the pressure of the French Press, 
It is difficult to see now how any other capital could have 
been chosen. 

The burden of British responsibility was far too 
heavy for the Prime Minister to bear alone. He de- 
cided to share It, as far as possible, with his whole 
Ministry and Government; and the result was that the 
fashioning of the Peace by Great Britain was far less 
of a personal affair than in any other of the victorious 
countries. Mr. Lloyd George took with him to Paris, 
as joint delegates, Mr. Bonar Law, Mr. Balfour, Lord 
Milner, and Mr. Barnes. Mr. Bonar Law, being 
leader of the House of Commons, was soon compelled 
to return to his duties in England; but he flew over to 
Paris at every serious crisis in the discussions. Mr. 
Balfour and Mr. Barnes remained all the time, and 
performed great services. Lord Milner went over 
when colonial affairs required his counsel and decision; 
and Mr. Montagu attended for Indian matters. But 
Ministers from all Departments attended in Paris 
whenever their advice was required; on critical occa- 
sions Mr. Lloyd George summoned meetings of the 
War Cabinet so that his decisions might have the full 
weight of the Coalition behind them.^ 

But besides the men of Great Britain the men of the 
Dominions were there too. The whole weight of the 
British Empire was behind the decision of the British 

^President Wilson brought with him four delegates, including 
Secretary Lansing, Colonel House, and one Republican, Mr. Henry 
White. M. Clemenceau was supported by General Foch, M. Pichon, 
M. Tardieu, and M. Loucheur. 



288 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Delegations. Each Dominion sent two delegates, one 
of whom in every case was the Prime Minister. The 
British Empire Delegation sat every day, and consid- 
ered every big decision; their secretary was a member 
of the Secretariat oT the Peace Conference; powerful 
men like Mr. Hughes, Mr. Robert Borden and Gen- 
eral Botha had their say through this channel; and 
thus the whole Empire was kept in touch. There was 
here the beginning of a new Imperial organisation. 

Behind all these leaders stood the great body of 
British officials; cool, experienced, industrious, alert, 
no body of men in that great crisis served their country 
better. 

The first meeting of the Conference was held on 
January i8th, 19 19, at the Palace of Versailles, and 
was an impressive gathering of the representatives of 
all the thirty Allied Nations who had taken part in the 
defeat of Germany. But as soon as vital decisions 
were approached it became obvious that it would be 
necessary to narrow the Council-chamber and to throw 
a veil over their debates. There was much inflammable 
stuff lying about, explosive national hopes and greeds, 
incredible aspirations after greatness. There were 
Caesars and Malvolios among the Powers, both great 
and little. If the discussions had been pubhshed, great 
popular emotions would have been roused, hatreds 
stimulated, passions excited. The Conference might 
not have lasted a week. No sane advocate of "open 
diplomacy" will ever exclude the right of private de- 
bate. 

The world watched impatiently while the inner Coun- 
cil was gradually narrowed from ten to five, from five 
to four, and finally, after Italy's withdrawal, from 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 289 

four to three. There was something of a sneer In the 
adjective applied — "The Big Five," "The Big Four,'* 
and the "Big Three." And yet the narrowing of the 
number was absolutely necessary for decision. Slow 
as decision was, it would have been far slower in a 
larger Council, It was vital that those who debated 
should keep confidence, and should be able to decide. 
With ten it was found that no secrets could be kept. 
With four confidence was easier, and decisions were 
possible. 

The defects of this narrowing of the Council-cham- 
ber are painfully obvious. The arguments which led to 
decisions were known only to a few. Minutes were 
kept by the Secretary, Sir Maurice Hankey, and were 
distributed to the ten, five, four or three. But the 
world outside was fed on gossip, and mostly malicious 
gossip. The great concourse of able writers who had 
journeyed to Paris from all countries looked up, but 
could not be adequately fed. They became angry 
and irritated. They spread their spleen against the 
Conference through a thousand conduits, daily and 
weekly, and ultimately through a vast and growing 
literature of discontent. It is notable that the books 
published about the Conference since its close have been 
almost unanimous in their bitter scorn and condemna- 
tion.* 

The Peace Treaty emerged with few friends and 
many enemies. That is the chief danger to its vitality 
and permanence. 

* See, for instance, Dr. Dillon's very able book The Peace Con- 
ference (Hutchinson & Co: London), Peace Making in Paris, by 
Sisley Huddleston (Fisher Unwin: London), The Peace in the Making, 
by H. Wilson Harris (The Swarthmore Press: London), and The 
Economic Consequences of the Peace, by John Maynard Keynes, C.B. 
(Macmillan & Co., London.) 



290 THE PRIME MINISTER 

At the foot of the Falls of Niagara there eddies a 
gigantic whirlpool round which objects are driven In 
endless fury, the prey of conflicting currents, tossed to 
and fro by buffeting waves, now hurled to the surface 
and then sucked down into the depths by irresistible 
forces. In that whirlpool guidance is nearly impossible. 
Man himself becomes a helpless victim; only by yield- 
ing could he survive. Resistance to such powers only 
increases the peril. 

So it was at Paris in 1919. The Great War had 
been the Falls of Niagara; the Conference was the 
whirlpool. In that tumult of waters it was a miracle 
to survive at all, much less to achieve mastery. Not 
since Phaethon strove to drive the horses of the sun 
had any human being faced a greater task than the 
three men who emerged as the leaders in this vast event 
— Mr. Lloyd George, President Wilson, and M. Cle- 
menceau. No man who has looked closely into their 
work will be inclined to judge swiftly or harshly. It 
was a burden too great for human shoulders. After 
six months of it Mr. Lloyd George returned to London 
whitened and lined, looking to his friends as if ten 
years had been added to his age. 

But he fared far better than his colleagues. Presi- 
dent Wilson returned to collapse into a grave illness, 
M. Clemenceau, the invincible "Tiger," the "Young 
old Man," continues his intrepid existence — ^but now 
retired — with a bullet In his back. Botha returned to 
South Africa to die. 

They all worked terribly hard, both by day and by 
night. They sat In council for two and a half hours 
in the mornings and two and a half hours again in the 
afternoons. They went out httle into society. In the 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 291 

evenings they read their piles of documents or saw 
important witnesses. 

Yet no one was satisfied. What is the reason? 

The chief reason is that the Conference worked 
throughout by process of compromise : and compromise 
has no lovers. It was in the main a compromise be- 
tween three points of view — the French, the American, 
and the British. Hateful to strenuous souls ! To 
yield nothing and to gain everything is to them the only 
statesmanship. But let us remember the other side. 
The war was not won alone; the peace could not be 
made alone. The armies had to combine for victory; 
the peace had to be combined too. No Great Power 
could have a peace entirely of its own, either in ma- 
terial gain or ideal aims. 

The American aim, as shaped by their remarkable 
President and voiced in his splendid oratory, was for 
a peace of final world-conciliation.^ He held up the 
"banner of the ideal." The French aim was a peace 
of security. The British aim lay somewhere between 
the two, a practical peace combining conciliation and 
security, punishing Germany without crushing it, im- 
proving the world but not seeking all at once to achieve 
the Millennium. 

Clemenceau was an honest nationalist. But he did 
not seek so much to exalt France as to depress Ger- 
many. The Idea of Foch was to stand guard over 
Germany with a flaming sword. The aim of the 
French Chauvinists was to break Germany up and dis- 
able her permanently. Clemenceau did not share these 
extreme views. He rebuked Foch for the interview in 
which he claimed that Germany should retire beyond 

* See Appendix D. 



292 THE PRIME MINISTER 

the Rhine. He was too much of a statesman to beUeve 
that a modern nation could be permanently crushed. 
But he sought to weaken her to the ground for the 
next fifty years; and then he hoped for security in the 
new Alliance with America and Great Britain. 

The part that Mr, Lloyd George played at Paris 
during those strenuous months was often that of con- 
ciliator between these two points of view — the French 
and the American. Such a conciliator was wanted: 
for the clash could not be concealed. "President Wil- 
son has Fourteen Points," mocked Clemenceau; "the 
good God was content with Ten." "Every morning," 
he said on another occasion, "I repeat to myself — 'I 
believe in the League of Nations !' " ^ It was difficult 
to achieve harmony between such a spirit and the lofty 
faith and austere hopes of the great Crusader from 
across the seas. 

Here came in Mr. Lloyd George's characteristic 
qualitles^ — his genius for compromise, his twinkling 
good humour, his amazing capacity for finding a middle 
way between different points of view. Again and 
again, when matters seemed at a deadlock — on the Saar 
Valley, the Polish Corridor, or even the perplexing 
question of Flume — Mr. Lloyd George achieved, or 
nearly achieved, a settlement. It is scarcely too much 
to say that without him the Conference would have 
Inevitably broken down, and one of the other two 
would have flung out of the Conference like SIgnor 
Orlando. 

But Mr. Lloyd George was not only a conciliator — 

* Some of these reported speeches are even more mordant, as 
for instance — "President Wilson talks like the good Christ, but 
acts like Lloyd George." 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 

not merely the middle figure. He had a very definite 
view of his own as to the right peace to aim at. He 
was the first to formulate a peace ; the first to insist on 
a decision. He was out for a peace stern but just. On 
Dantzig he took the initiative for moderation. He in- 
sisted on a settlement that would not create a new 
Baltic question. He was against Poland annexing a 
city of Germans — against it also for the sake of Po- 
land, "We must set up a Poland that can live," he 
would say. *'If swollen by enemy populations she will 
explode from within. Dantzig is outside the real 
orbit of Poland. Make It International." President 
Wilson supported him; M. Clemenceau was persuaded; 
and Mr. Lloyd George got his way. 

Poland had good friends at the Conference. Not 
only was it the policy of France to aggrandise Poland 
as a substitute for Russia, but President Wilson was 
enthusiastically pro-Polish. On the general issue Mr. 
Lloyd George was entirely with them. He wished 
Poland to flourish as a self-governing State, but not to 
enter on its existence by inflicting on others the crime 
of Partition from which it had so deeply suffered itself. 
For that reason, in the last stage, he took a strong 
solitary line on the demand for a plebiscite that came 
from Silesia. The whole British Cabinet supported 
him, and there again in the end he achieved his pur- 
pose. 

But on other matters the combination varied: Mr. 
Lloyd George sometimes took a sterner line than the 
other two. He was always for the trial of the Kaiser, 
as a supreme lesson to rulers. President Wilson op- 
posed; M. Clemenceau was indifferent; Venizelos was 
opposed. But Mr. Lloyd George insisted, and per- 



294 THE PRIME MINISTER 

suaded them to agree to London as the place of 
trial. 

On the Rhine question and the Saar Valley he sup- 
ported President Wilson in opposing the extreme 
French claims, and finally achieved the compromise in- 
serted in the Peace Treaty.^ He opposed the French 
proposals to separate the Rhine Provinces from Ger- 
many and occupy in permanence the bridge-heads. He 
looked far ahead. "See here," he said to the French, 
"you will create another Alsace-Lorraine : you will 
give Germany a great cause." 

He saw in such proposals the certain seeds of future 
wars, and wars to which he could not summon the 
youth of Great Britain. For he kept clearly in view 
that, under the League of Nations settlement, we, as a 
contracting party, might be called upon (under Clause 
lo) to defend with arms any detail of the settlement. 
It was always his aim to keep British obligations within 
the limits of the powers of the British Empire, 

He supported President Wilson in the difference with 
Italy over Fiume, and CTemenceau supported both. 
But he always hoped to effect a settlement by persua- 
sion. When President Wilson had made up his mind 
to issue an appeal to the Italian nation, Mr. Lloyd 
George persuaded him to agree to a postponement of 
twenty-four hours. President Wilson kept precisely to 
his promise. But it unfortunately happened that, just 
as the twenty-four hours expired, delicate negotiations 
were proceeding between Orlando and Mr. Lloyd 

^The Saar Valley was finally given to the League of Nations for 
fifteen years, giving the French the output of the mines. At the close 
of that period there is to be a plebiscite, but if the vote goes in 
favour of Germany the mines must be bought back by Germany 
from France. 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 295 

George, and there were still hopes of a settlement. 
The appeal was published in the afternoon papers of 
Paris, and its immediate effects were to offend the 
Italian delegates, throw them back on to the point of 
honour, and drive them out of the Peace Conference. 
President Wilson acted with his usual high and simple 
honesty; but in this case, at any rate, if the aim was 
peace, open diplomacy did not score a conspicuous 
triumph. 

In regard to Russia, there also Mr. Lloyd George 
always craved for a settlement as part of the new 
peace of the world. This was not his second, but his 
first thought. He started instantly after the Armistice 
with the idea of a joint meeting between the Russian 
parties. His first proposal was that they should meet 
at Paris; and this was laid before the Allied Chiefs 
early in the Peace Conference, in a conversation held 
at the French Foreign Office on Tuesday, January 21st, 
1919.^ The French Premier objected to the presence 
of the Bolshevists of Paris as a danger to French so- 
ciety. Mr. Lloyd George then proposed Salonika or 
Lemnos, as easily accessible from Russia. It was as 
the afterthought of an official that the island of Prin- 
kipos was suggested; perhaps it was a measure of the 
fear of Bolshevism already existing among the Govern- 
ments of Western Europe. The appeal to the Russian 
parties was issued as a result of this meeting of Janu- 
ary 2 1 St. We all know how it failed. It withered 
from sheer lack of support. The Bolshevists refused 

^ See pp. 1240-2 of the Bullitt evidence: "Hearings before the 
Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate," vol, ii. 
The minutes of the meeting are given. I give them in full in Appen- 
dix C in order to show Mr. Lloyd George's point of view at this 
time 



296 THE PRIME MINISTER 

to stop fighting. The Russian "loyalists," already di- 
vided from the Bolshevist rule by gulfs of hatred and 
terror, rejected the very idea of a meeting. The French 
official class, always very powerful, was openly hos- 
tile, and actively worked against the proposal. The 
propertied classes in Great Britain, supported by a 
powerful Press, denounced and ridiculed the whole 
policy. The time expired for the meeting; and the 
policy expired too. 

Then in February came the Bullitt Mission originally 
devised as a "feeler" by Colonel House. Mr. Bullitt 
went to Russia and experienced one of those astounding 
conversions which the leading Bolshevists, by showing 
only their better side, seem capable of producing. The 
American Delegation asked Mr. Lloyd George to see 
Mr. Bullitt; and, with his usual accessibility, he invited 
the young American to breakfast. The proposal 
brought by Mr. Bullitt was not an offer from the Bol- 
shevists, but the suggestion of an offer by the Allies 
— a very different affair.^ President Wilson himself 
refused to meet Mr. Bullitt, a course which seems to 
gather some justification from Mr. Bullitt's subsequent 
proceedings in America. But the proposals embodied 
in the Bolshevist memorandum were not such as, at this 
time at any rate, had any chance of serious considera- 
tion. The mere proposal to take the whole matter 
out of the hands of the Peace Conference was not cal- 
culated to conciliate that body.^ 

^ See Mr. Bullitt's statement to the Committee of Foreign Relations, 
United States Senate. "The Soviets undertook to accept proposals 
if made by the Allies not later than April loth, 1919" {Hearings 
before the Committee on Foreign Relations, vol. ii. p. 1248). The 
proposals were not written down by the Bolshevists but conveyed 
through Mr. Bullitt, who placed them on record. 

' See Mr. Bullitt's evidence, Hearings Before the Committtee on 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 297 

Then In April came the Nansen episode, which 
turned out, in Mr. BuUitt's adroit hands, to be yet 
another effort to renew the peace negotiations of 
February. The gulf still proved impassable. The 
Allies would not authorise Nansen to undertake his 
intrepid and humane adventure without the power to 
distribute food and control the Russian railways: and 
the Bolshevists would on no account agree to that 
course. Neither side trusted one another, A civil war 
was raging, and the issue was still undecided. Neither 
side would give way; and once more the time limit 
expired.^ 

Still eager to attain peace In Russia, and finding that 
the hope of conciliation was vain, Mr. Lloyd George 
now swung over to the policy of helping Admiral Kolt- 
chak and General Denikin on the condition of obtain- 
ing democratic and constitutional guarantees. The 
guarantees were given, and seemed favourable. Help 
was sent. But there was one point on which the 
"White" Russians would make no concessions — the in- 
dependence of the Border States. We all know how 
since on that rock of adventures of the "White" Rus- 
sians have shipwrecked; and so the hopes of the Allies 
have been disastrously thwarted. It seems at the pres- 
ent moment as if an immense mass of human suffering 
might have been averted If the original policy of Mr. 
Lloyd George In January-February of 19 19 had re- 
ceived reasonable and friendly consideration In London 
and In Paris. 

Foreign Relations, United States Senate, vol. ii. p. 1246. Mr. Bullitt's 
account of the conditions prevailing in Russia did not, of course, 
tally with other and more responsible evidence. 

^ See Mr. Bullitt's evidence, Hearings Before the Committee on 
Foreign Relations, United States Senate, vol. ii. pp. 1264-71, for full 
details. 



298 THE PRIME MINISTER 

In regard to the League of Nations, Mr. Lloyd 
George was never the prime mover, but always a faith- 
ful follower of President Wilson. Thus it was that 
Mr. Lloyd George never framed a scheme, but took 
the schemes of others as the basis for his advice and 
counsel. He profoundly believed in the League of Na- 
tions as the only way out for the human race. But he 
had not a very deep faith in schemes or constitutions. 
His idea was rather, in the good old British way, to 
evolve a League from the Peace Conference. He had 
in mind the precedent of the Imperial Conference, and 
he believed that periodical meetings of the Peace Con- 
ference, gradually including nations at first excluded, 
would lead to a slow growth of understanding between 
nations now too ardent for sovereignty to be affected 
by any decisions from Paris or Geneva. 

President Wilson brought to Paris a scheme which 
he had already worked out. He had based it on the 
Phillimore Report amended by Colonel House, and 
rewritten by himself.^ He then read General Smuts's 
remarkable memorandum, and revised his scheme 
again. That scheme was considered at an early meet- 
ing of the Conference and referred to a League of 
Nations Committee. President Wilson himself sat 
on the Committee along with Mr. Lansing, thus giving 
up to the creation of the Covenant a large part of his 
great energies and genius. Lord Robert Cecil was 
placed on the Committee as the British Representative 
by Mr. Balfour, and we know what a great part he 
played. Lord Robert was in frequent consultation with 

* See President Wilson's first scheme in the Bullitt evidence. At 
the end of it nothing remained but a few clauses {Hearings before 
the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, vol. ii). 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 299 

Mr. Lloyd George, who always kept in close touch 
with the drafting of the Covenant, and made many 
suggestions. When the Covenant was in danger, he 
supported President Wilson on his return from Amer- 
ica In his insistence that it should be made part of the 
Treaty. Still, Mr. Lloyd George perhaps never shook 
off his instinctive feeling that there was an element of 
unreality in the drafting of a set constitution for the 
League. He doubted whether the intense patriotism 
created by the war could at once be poured, glowing 
hot, into the mould of a new international discipline. 
The action of Italy, and still more of the United 
States itself, seems since to have given some confirma- 
tion to his view. 

Throughout all these discussions Mr. Lloyd George 
and President Wilson remained close friends. They 
were really kindred spirits, with the difference that Mr. 
Lloyd George had a longer experience of politics and 
diplomacy in the ruse old Europe. But both came from 
Puritan stock, and the high idealism and noble integ- 
rity of President Wilson's character must have often 
recalled to Mr. Lloyd George that splendid uncle who 
had taught and nurtured him. Of their relationships 
it may be said, as of Carlyle and Sterling, that they 
always ended their discussions friends — ^"except in 
opinion not disagreeing." 

No two honest men, indeed, could expect to agree 
on all the questions raised at this multifarious Con- 
ference. Take the problems of the Near East. There 
Mr. Lloyd George very strongly took the view that the 
Turks had forfeited the right to rule over Christians. 
He was always disposed to look to the great Prime 



SOO THE PRIME MINISTER 

Minister, Venlzelos, as the prop of the Alliance in 
the Eastern Mediterranean. That made him lean to 
the Greeks. M. Clemenceau followed the traditional 
poliq^ of the Quai D'Orsay in its leniency towards the 
Turks. President Wilson, perhaps influenced by the 
American professors of the Roberts College at Con- 
stantinople, was disposed to advocate clemency to Bul- 
garia. This is an instance of minor differences which 
never threatened cleavage, but harassed and delayed 
the proceedings of the Conference. For Mr. Lloyd 
George was never inclined to neglect the Near East. 
There was the home and cradle of those little nations 
in whose destiny he so profoundly believed. 

There were crises in the Conference when he boldly 
acknowledged that he had been wrong. Such a mo- 
ment came when, in April, he was challenged on the 
Indemnity question by a mandatory telegram from 200 
members of Parliament. He returned and faced his 
critics with defiance. "A good Peace," he said, "is 
better than a good Press." He had discovered In Paris 
that It was vain to hope for the great indemnities from 
Germany which Great Britain deserved, and for which 
he himself had hoped. He faced Parliament with reali- 
ties; and Parliament bowed to the facts. 

Speaking broadly, Mr. Lloyd George and his col- 
leagues followed throughout a sound British tradition. 
Instinctively they were, In 19 19, pursuing in Paris the 
same policy that Wellington and Castlereagh pursued 
during 18 15 In the Congress of Vienna, and the Second 
Treaty of Paris after the victory of Waterloo. Just 
as they prevented a triumphant Prussia from crushing 
France, so Mr. Lloyd George and President Wilson 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE SOI 

prevented a triumphant France from shattering Ger- 
many to atoms. ^ 

On the human side, Mr. Lloyd George lived in 
Paris a simple and homely life. He occupied a modest 
flat in the 23 Rue Nitot, near the Arc de Triomphe, in 
the pleasant neighbourhood of the Champs Elysees. 
European observers were surprised at the contrast be- 
tween the daily life of the British Prime Minister and 
the high state which surrounded the American Presi- 
dent, who occupied the Villa Murat over the way. But 
when they criticised the posting of sentries both inside 
and outside the President's house, and when the French 
people objected to being forbidden to walk on the 
American side of their own beloved Parisian street, 
they perhaps forgot that President Wilson stood in the 
place of Royalty as the sovereign head of the country 
for which he spoke. 

The French, with their genius for affability, pre- 
ferred the easy ways of Mr. Lloyd George with his 
love for their cafe life and their restaurants, and his 
general sociability. He was often received in the cafes 
and theatres with an almost embarrassing friendliness 
and respect, and sometimes the audience would rise and 
sing "God Save the King." At one cafe in the Champs 
Elysees the orchestra knew so well his passion for the 
"Sambre et Meuse" march, that they would play it 
whenever he entered without waiting for his request. 
He was, as ever, kindly to the journalists, and would, 
whenever possible, take a cup of tea with them at the 
Hotel Majestic — humorously renamed "Megantic," 

^In framing the Second Treaty of Paris signed on November 
20th, 181 5, it was with the utmost difficulty that Wellington and 
Castlereagh prevented the Prussian and Austrian representatives 
irom annexing Alsace-Lorraine. 



302 THE PRIME MINISTER 

after his daughter. On Saturdays It was the pleasant 
custom of the British exiles to hold dances at this 
hotel, and Mr. Lloyd George would often look in and 
watch the dancing. He loved to see his youngest 
daughter Megan and his son Gwylem enjoying them- 
selves at these democratic dances, to which only an 
Arctic prudery could find any objection. On Sundays 
he would often go touring in his motor-car through the 
devastated areas of France, in company with the gen- 
eral who commanded that part of the battle-field. In 
this way he visited most of the Western Front and had 
the chief battles reconstructed for him. He paid a 
special visit to Verdun, penetrated the forts where the 
blood-stains are still on the walls, and lunched in the 
Citadelle. All these things made him popular in 
France. 

On most week-days he refused to go out in the 
evenings, retiring early, but not always to rest. He 
kept to his habit of holding his hospitable and homely 
breakfasts. He would sometimes take a Sunday off 
for a motor-drive to Fontalnebleau with his friends. 
On such occasions he would talk no politics, but would 
indulge that precious capacity of gay and happy recrea- 
tion which has so often been his salvation. 

The negotiations, after long delay, ended with a 
final speed-up. President Wilson, on his return from 
his visit to America in February, insisted on the inclu- 
sion of the League of Nations In the Peace Treaty, 
and there was a rapid process of redrafting. On May 
6th the draft was completed, and It was presented at 
Versailles to the German Foreign Minister, Count 
Brockdorff-Rantzau on May 7th. There followed six 
weeks of parley with Germany, which led to some im- 



THE PEACE CONFERENCE 808 

portant modifications in regard to the Saar Valley, the 
Polish Corridor, and Silesia. During this final crisis 
Mr. Lloyd George played the part of a bold and fear- 
less conciliator: and he tried in every permissible way 
to make the peace possible for Germany's acceptance. 
President Wilson, on the other hand, hardened, and 
took the view that he was pledged to support the 
Treaty as now framed. But Mr. Lloyd George gained 
some important points, and by softening the terms cer- 
tainly added to the hope of future peace in Europe. 

On June 22nd the German Assembly ratified the 
Treaty, and on June 29th it was signed at Versailles 
by the German envoys. Mr. Lloyd George returned 
to England and eloquently defended the Treaty before 
Parliament, which unanimously ratified it on July 3rd. 

As far as Great Britain was concerned, Mr. Lloyd 
George had now achieved peace. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE NEW WORLD 

"With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firm- 
ness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive 
on to finish the work we are in: to bind up the nation's wounds; 
to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his 
widow and his orphan ; to do all which may achieve and cherish 
a just and lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations." 
Abraham Lincoln, March 4th, 1865. 

"I don't envy the men who have to govern the 
world after the war," said M. Clemenceau to Mr. 
Lloyd George on one occasion in Paris during the 
Peace Conference, His instinct proved true. For 
Indeed the world, both abroad and in these islands, has 
proved far less tractable since the guns have ceased 
to fire. There has been less killing, but more quar- 
relling. Above all, there has been a great increase of 
civil contention within the nations, from the extreme 
of civil savagery that has swept over Russia to the 
more moderate party contentions which have divided 
and weakened American effort, and which have, to some 
extent, distracted this country. 

From the very beginning Mr. Lloyd George foresaw 
these troubles, and decisively made up his mind that, 
for his part, he would work to prolong the national 
unity achieved during the war. Since November i ith, 
19 1 8, he never swerved from his belief that the coun- 
try could not afford the margin of effort necessary for 

304 



THE NEW WORLD 305 

party contention. Unity has seemed to him as neces- 
sary for recovery from the strife as it was for the 
strife itself. 

For, consider the situation as it presented itself to 
the statesmen on the morrow of the Armistice. In 
every great belligerent European country trade had 
been entirely dislocated by the strain of the war. 
Ploughshares had literally been turned Into swords. 
Vast workshops had been diverted to war. Huge popu- 
lations of men and women had been shifted to muni- 
tion centres. Now gigantic armies of soldiers and 
workers had to be demobilised, and over the whole sit- 
uation hung the peril of unemployment. All the coun- 
tries were exhausted, physically and mentally; It is not 
too much to say they were suffering from a modified 
form of shell-shock. In every great community there 
were suppressed labour difficulties, the accumulation of 
grievances that had been held back from expression 
during the four years of war. Then, underground in 
both France and Great Britain, there were the fanatics 
of Bolshevism, working like moles at the roots of so- 
ciety and ready to take advantage of every possible 
emergency to forward their terrific designs. In England 
the very police had been shaken in their discipline. 
Against such dangers it seemed to Mr. Lloyd George 
that all reasonable men should combine and follow 
the road midway between "the falsehood of extremes." 
He was himself sometimes tempted, in some moods, 
to agree with the enemies who suggested that his work 
was done. Both for him and M. Clemenceau the 
achievement of victory seemed to mark the fitting con- 
summation of their careers. But if such moods came, 
they soon passed. For retirement was Impossible. It 



306 THE PRIME MINISTER 

was not a time when any patriot could stand aside. 
The storm was coming, and it was necessary to ride it. 
The thought of retirement never seriously presented 
itself to his active and combative mind. 

The first step was to secure a new mandate from 
the country for the work that lay before him. So he 
decided on a General Election.^ 

He had every excuse for this step in the situation 
of Parliament at that moment. The old Parliament 
which saw us through the war had lasted for eight 
years, although its statutory existence had been limited 
by itself to five years under the Parliament Act of 1 9 1 1 . 
Five times the War Parliament prolonged its own life, 
a process quite justifiable during the stress of that 
mighty struggle, but approaching almost to a scandal 
once active fighting had ceased. That Parliament 
lived longer than any of its forerunners In the past 
century, and, having been elected long before the war, 
was notably In many respects out of touch and tune with 
the war feeling of the country. Many of its members 
had been called upon to resign by their constituents, 
and by their attitude during the war had gravely belied 
the patriotic unity of the country. That was not all. 
A great measure of suffrage reform, far and away 
the most extensive since the Reform Act of 1831, had 
been passed into law in February, 191 8. The new 
register had been completed by October ist and con- 
tained two and a half times as many electors as the 
register compiled before the war. For the first time 
women had the vote, and the same right had been ex- 
tended to soldiers on active service, to sailors, mer- 
chantmen, and fishermen on the sea, besides a vast 

* See Chapter XXIII, second page. 



THE NEW WORLD 307 

population of new home voters. These were the peo- 
ple who had won the war. It seemed only fair and 
just that they should have a voice in the peace. 

It has always been the fixed constitutional rule in this 
country that when a new Reform Act has created a 
large class of new voters the old Parliament becomes 
obsolete. That was the rule pursued in 1831, 1868, 
and 1885, and there seemed the more and not the less 
reason why at this crisis the country's fate it should 
be pursued in 19 18. Nor can we be in any doubt that 
if Mr. Lloyd George had pursued the alternative policy 
of prolonging the life of the old Parliament he would 
have been equally blamed. 

Mr. Lloyd George desired to carry through the Gen- 
eral Election with as little party contention as was pos- 
sible, and therefore informal approaches were made to 
the Independent Liberals during the autumn with a 
view to bringing them back into the Coalition. Those 
negotiations broke down, not on any material difference 
of political opinion, but mainly on the question of the 
date of the General Election. Mr. Lloyd George re- 
fused to adopt, as a governing political principle, this 
new reluctance to appeal to a new electorate. With 
regret he found himself compelled to agree to a division 
in the Liberal Party between those who befriended the 
Government and those who opposed It, and it is notable 
that he carried with him the great majority of the old 
party. Many of the Coahtlon Liberals found, when 
they went down to their constituencies, that their Lib- 
eral Associations supported them with a practically 
unanimous vote. The provinces were less factious than 
the London Clubs. 

The Labour Party decided to leave the Coalition, 



308 THE PRIME MINISTER 

to which they had adhered since December, 191 6, and 
to fight the election as a body independent of all other 
parties. But even Labour did not leave the Coalition 
as a whole party, for in the process they became divided 
into several sections, and some of the ablest members of 
the Labour Party, including Mr. G. N. Barnes and Mr. 
G. H. Roberts, remained with the Government. The 
surprising lack of leadership in the Labour Party since 
the General Election, in spite of their notable victories 
at the polls, has been largely due to this division of 
forces, and to the fact that several members, such as 
Mr. Clynes and Mr. Brace, now acting as Independent 
leaders, were at heart in favour of remaining within 
the Government. The Labour Party, like the Indepen- 
dent Liberals, have also paid penalty for the spirit of 
faction. 

Deserted by the bulk of the Labour Party, and by 
the old leaders of the Liberal Party, Mr. Lloyd George 
had to form his Coalition out of the combination of 
those Liberals who remained faithful to him, and the 
undivided forces of the Unionist Party. He and Mr. 
Bonar Law issued a joint manifesto, and letters passed 
between them which defined the Coalition policy. It 
was necessarily a policy displeasing to both extreme 
wings. For it is the essence of a coalition that nobody 
can get all his own way. At home, as abroad, Mr. 
Lloyd George had to compromise. For, after all, it 
is the first duty of a CoaHtion to coalesce. The justifi- 
cation of such a policy of compromise on matters of 
grave civil moment was indeed to be found only in the 
gravity of the civil emergency. It was not from one 
party only that M:*. Lloyd George asked the sacrifice, 



THE NEW WORLD 309 

and it is not by one party only that he has since been 
attacked.^ 

The General Election took place on December 14th 
and Mr. Lloyd George was returned to power with a 
majority of 249 over all the independent groups. For 
the 602 seats in Great Britain no less than 478 of- 
ficial Coalition candidates were elected, while the sui- 
cidal policy of the Sinn Feiners resulted in the practical 
elimination of the Irish Party as a parliamentary force. 
Most of the leading Independent Liberals were de- 
feated, and the Coalition was returned with a powerful 
and overwhelming mandate to carry out its stated pol- 
icy both at home and abroad. 

Parhament met to take the oath on February 3rd, 
19 19, and was opened by the King for business on 
Tuesday, February nth. It was emphatically a war- 
born Parliament, but there were also signs of the New 
World which had emerged from the war. Only 365 
of the old members had been re-elected. Labour stood 
out as the strongest party in opposition, and its parlia- 
mentary leaders took their places on the Front Opposi- 
tion Bench. ^ The opening took place under ominous 
signs of civil strife. The unrest of labour, restrained 
by patriotic motives during the war, had already broken 
out into open flame. A general strike on the UndeK 
ground Railways held London in a grip of paralysis, 
made harder by a bitter February frost. Mr. Lloyd 
George attended Parliament before going to the Peace 

* By a section in all parties. For instance, the Morning Post, the 
Daily Neias, and the Daily Herald, are all equally vigorous in this 
combined attack. 

^Sixty-three Labour members were returned out of some 300 
candidates. 



310 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Conference in order to utter a grave warning against 
the dangers of those social strifes. "This trouble," he 
said, "is impending peace; and peace is the first neces- 
sity," He warned the country against certain symp- 
toms of anarchy new to British movements; and he had 
grave reason for so doing. But, at the same time, his 
attitude towards the real grievances of Labour was 
always sympathetic and open-minded. His own life 
had taught him too well the reality of those fears which 
enshroud the workman's existence : the dread of unem- 
ployment; the precariousness of wage; and, above all, 
that fearful evil of over-crowding which had been so 
seriously aggravated by the war. He promised full 
investigation, and within a few days he called together 
at the Central Hall, Westminster, a Labour Confer- 
ence between employers and employed, to whom he 
addressed himself in an earnest and persuasive speech. 
All through the labour troubles of this year Mr. Lloyd 
George pursued the same consistent policy. He was 
firm against anarchy, and yet open to reason in regard 
to all real complaints. He had his ears open to the call 
of the new order. But he dreaded the complete smash- 
up of the old society before the new was ready, and 
the events in Russia faced him as a glaring red light. 
But he stood firm against coercion and repression as 
the only cure for unrest, and he saved his Government 
from pursuing the policy which, after Waterloo, led 
to the tragic anti-climax of Peterloo. 

But there were many impatient men in the world in. 
19 19, and the English mind was apt to demand pay- 
ment in immediate cash for all Mr. Lloyd George's 
sanguine perorations. The Tube Strike in London 



THE NEW WORLD 811 

was followed almost instantly by a great crisis in the 
mine-fields. The miners rejected the first Cabinet 
offer, and instantly went to ballot on the question of a 
general strike. The rank and file voted for the strike 
by a majority of six to one.^ The Government replied 
by offering a Royal Commission, which the miners ac- 
cepted after a candid debate between them and Mr. 
Lloyd George, which was certainly a new development 
of open diplomacy in civil affairs. Mr. Justice Sankey 
was appointed as Chairman of the Commission, and, 
after a hot debate in the House of Commons on Feb- 
ruary 25th, the Government promised that the Com- 
mission should report on the question of wages and 
hours by March 20th. On those conditions the miners 
agreed to appoint representatives to the Royal Com- 
mission and to present evidence. 

Promptly on March 20th Mr. Justice Sankey's Com- 
mission reported, recommending an increase of two 
shillings a day in wages and an immediate seven-hour 
day, to be reduced to six hours in 1921. The revela- 
tions before the Commission as to the housing and con- 
ditions of labour among the mining population made it 
easy for the Government to meet the miners. They 
instantly granted them both these concessions, and the 
strike was postponed. But the question of nationalisa- 
tion of the mines was held over, to become a widening 
political issue between the Government and Labour dur- 
ing the rest of the year. 

The Labour crisis died down for the moment, and 
did not recur in an acute form until later in the year 
(October) when the railwaymen, whose needs had per- 
haps been too little reg::rded in the stress of the min- 

*For the strike 611,998; against, 104,997. 



S12 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Ing crisis, precipitated a struggle by a sudden and al- 
most universal strike. For a few days the situation 
looked extremely grave, and there is no doubt that 
there were extreme forces working on both sides in 
the direction of civil war. But after a short period of 
natural Impatience with the conduct of the railwaymen, 
Mr. Lloyd George steadied himself back to his old 
combination of firmness and concession. On the side 
of the strikers, both the miners and transport workers 
were in favour of moderation, and, in the end, the mod- 
erate' forces won. The threatened revolution was 
averted by a quite ordinary compromise on hours and 
wages. The whole crisis ended with a friendly and 
even enthusiastic meeting of both parties — a sort of 
"sing-song" — in the domestic atmosphere of lo, Down- 
ing Street. It was a striking exhibition of Mr. Lloyd 
George's characteristic gifts of control and conciliation. 
Like Columbus's settlement with the egg, this per- 
formance seemed easy enough when it was achieved. 
But we must remember that Mr. Lloyd George stood 
between two forces both equally violent. On the one 
side there were the Direct Actionists, the "parlour 
Bolshevists" of the trade unions, fascinated by M. 
Sorrel's ^ opiate dream of dominating the modern 
State through its complex organisation of food and 
transport. The thing seemed so easy: and it would 
have been easy if Mr. Lloyd George had not, for 
months before the strike, prepared to prevent it. The 
motor-lorries that supplied London with milk were not 
organised in a day. They were part of a perfectly 
legitimate counter-stroke prepared by the Government 

*The founder of the French Syndicalist movennent. See his book 
Reflexions sur la Violence. 



THE NEW WORLD SIS 

when they realised the extent of the plot to hold up 
the national life. But on the extreme wing of the Gov- 
ernment's side there was an equally violent section who 
cried, "Let's fight it out to the end! Let's smash Trade 
Unionism ! Now's the time to put Labour in the cart 1" 
■ — elegant phrases, which we all heard in those days. 
To this temper Mr. Lloyd George was vitally opposed. 
He was out to fight Bolshevism and "Direct Action- 
Ism," but not Trade Unionism. Happily, in this mid- 
dle policy he was met half-way by several far-sighted 
leaders of trade unions, notably Mr. J. H. Thomas, 
who, while resolutely upholding the rights of the rail- 
waymen, refused to surrender to the revolutionaries. 
On the Friday Mr. Lloyd George came to the conclu- 
sion that he, too, must resist his own extremists and go 
half-way to meet the trades union moderates. We all 
remember how, under this new policy of conciliation, 
the terrors of that critical week passed away like mists" 
before the wind, and Sunday brought us a sudden and 
welcome peace. It was the triumph of the middle 
point of view, the old method of British common 
sense which refuses to burn the house in order to build 
it better. 

Mr. Lloyd George was now called to Paris for the 
great work of European settlement, and the task of 
reconstruction was left to his Ministers at home. From 
February to May Mr. Bonar Law led the House of 
Commons and practically acted as Home Prime Min- 
ister. He began to develop the programme of recon- 
struction promised by the Government at the time of 
the General Election. On February 26th Mr, Shortt 
Introduced a measure to which Mr. Lloyd George had 
given a great deal of thought and attention — the Min- 



314 THE PRIME MINISTER 

istry of Transport Bill, constituting a bold claim on 
behalf of the State to supreme control of 'railways, 
canals, tramways, roads, harbours, docks, and electric 
supply. On March 17th Sir Eric Geddes ably de- 
fended the Bill and gained a second reading without 
a division. 

It was scarcely to be expected that so great a change 
should take place without resistance from the vested 
interests asked to submit to control. In the course 
of the discussions that ensued various claims of the 
State had to be modified and some withdrawn, espe- 
cially in regard to the docks and roads. But in the 
end a powerful measure was passed on to the Statute 
Book, and already, with the firmer grip over transport 
and traffic which the Ministry of Transport is able 
to exercise, the country is feeling the tremendous ad- 
vantages of this measure. It is safe to say that no 
Party Government could have carried so big a measure 
with so little debate within a year of the ending of the 
war. 

After Transport, Housing — a far more difficult 
question. The difficulties and troubles which beset the 
Government throughout 19 18 on this critical question 
have become notorious to all men. Dr. Addison took 
the first step by introducing, on April 7th, a Housing 
Bill which was certainly stronger than any hitherto 
placed before Parliament. Mr. Lloyd George, before 
going to Paris, had taken an active part in pressing 
this measure. He had ruthlessly forced a peerage on 
Mr. Hayes Fisher and had thus seriously shaken the 
old-time resistance of the Local Government Board. 
The main policy of the new Housing Act, as Dr. Addi- 
son framed and passed it through Parhament, was to 



THE NEW WORLD 315 

throw the burden of housing on to the local authori- 
ties. The local authorities have not proved equal to 
the task. The strong wind which was blowing at the 
centre had not yet reached Slocum-in-Pogis and Little 
Puddleworth. The financial credit of the smaller local 
authorities was not equal to the new burden, and they 
were not powerful enough to face the great vested in- 
terests which control the raw material. Some of the 
great municipalities acted with a larger mind, but the 
small towns and rural districts held back. There was 
much talk and few houses. The result was that at the 
end of the year the Government had to make a fresh 
appeal to the private interests, adding a bait rising 
to £150 for every house built. Certainly no good-will 
was absent either on the part of the Government or 
the central departments. But this task of 19 19 is 
handed on to 1920, and may require a vaster combina- 
tion of energy and good will than has yet been brought 
to bear on it. What seemed to be wanted was that 
Mr. Lloyd George should bring to bear on this question 
some of the high patriotic enthusiasm which combined 
employers and workmen to face the Munition crisis of 
19 1 5. He. took the first step in this process by meet- 
ing the building trades in December, 19 19. 

After these greatest questions there came a series 
of minor measures to round off the Government's 
social policy. The Ministry of Health Bill, introduced 
in February and passed during the Session, concen- 
trated all the authorities responsible for public health 
into one great department, which will gradually func- 
tion as a new centre for the preventive and curative 
riieasures suggested by the advance of medical science. 
The Land Acquisition Act, in spite of the criticism 



316 THE PRIME MINISTER 

brought to bear on it, is already of immense value in 
enabling the new housing authorities to acquire land. 
It is now safe to say that the trouble of the land is the 
least of the questions involved in the matter of hous- 
ing. The Land Settlement Act, passed to help place 
♦ ex-soldiers on the land, quickened and extended the 
facilities for acquiring land for settlers either on small 
holdings or allotments. The Extension of Rents Act, 
passed in March, prolonged to one year after the war 
the freedom from a rise in rent granted to small house- 
holders, and the margin of rents covered by the Act 
was considerably raised in the course of the debate.^ 
The Industrial Courts Act set up an industrial tribunal 
for the settlement of disputes, and, providing good- 
will gathers round it, may, in the end, give to us a 
good working substitute for compulsory arbitration. 
Towards the end of the Session Parliament passed a 
bold measure granting yet a further step in the exten- 
sion of self-government to India, and in one day it 
generously increased the grants to old age pensioners. 
Mr. Lloyd George ended the Session by sketching in 
outline the bases of a new Irish settlement. Not a bad 
record for a Parliament which has been denounced in 
all the terms of the political vocabulary as reactionary, 
illiberal, profiteering, and even corrupt! 

Thus since the Armistice, in domestic crises as in 
foreign, Mr. Lloyd George has continued to be for this 
country the central figure of hope and hate. He keeps 
his old faculty of commanding the interest of men. 
Now, as in the boyish scrimmages of his youth, his 
flying colours draw others on. For the moment ( 1920) 

* From £50 per annum to £70 in London, £60 in Scotland and 
£ss in the counties. 



THE NEW WORLD 317 

he strives for peace and unity in civil endeavour. But 
that is not because his eye is dimmed or his combative 
strength abated. He is by nature a partisan leader, 
and It has cost him no small effort to continue in his 
present part. The defensive on two fronts is not his 
characteristic role. His instinct is still for the heart of 
the battle : there, at any rate, his spirit is not aged. If 
party warfare should become once more the best thing 
for the country, he will not shrink from enlisting again 
in that service. But events have thrown on him the 
mantle of national leadership, and it is a great respon- 
sibility to descend again into the party arena. That 
is not his present reading of a statesman's duty in these 
difficult days. His mind is rather filled with another 
vision — the vision of a State deliberately consenting to 
sink faction in the cause of a larger purpose — of a 
community which, with all its passion for the healthy 
strife of party, can tell when to forego that strife, 
and can scent the danger from afar. It is the old 
vision of a house not divided against itself, but work- 
ing together all parties and all classes, for the com- 
mon good. Is it to fade into the light of common 
day? That is the question — the vital question — before 
us all. 

Perhaps the habit of party passion, the love of party 
contention, is too deeply rooted in this island people. 
Perhaps the gulf between the classes has already be- 
come too wide to be bridged. There are signs and 
omens pointing that way. But, if so, let us not be too 
certain that this party habit, because it is our habit, is 
necessarily a virtue. Remember Rome and Carthage. 
Rome united, and Carthage divided. Rome stood, and 
Carthage fell. 



818 THE PRIME MINISTER 

At any rate, here is this other vision — the vision of 
a Britain that stands together, shoulder to shoulder, 
"foursquare to all the winds that blow," a Britain that 
does not wound itself, and therefore does not rue. To 
"be of the same mind one towards another" may be a 
vain hope and a dream that fades; but, at, any rate, 
it is not ignoble. 

It is for this faith that Mr. Lloyd George now 
stands before the world, as a national leader of this 
great and victorious British folk, now slowly groping 
its way out of the shadow of death into the way of 
peace. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE MAN 

"He, though thus endued with a sense 
And faculty of storm and turbulence, 
Is yet a Soul whose master-bias leans 
To home-felt pleasures and to gentle scenes." 

Wordsworth's The Happy Warrior. 

That element of tranquillity which Mr. Lloyd 
George enjoys in his own home — that "happy fireside 
clime" which to him is always truly — y 

"The pathos and sublime 
Of human life"— 

perhaps accounts for the serenity of his outlook on 
public life. 

That serenity is never more conspicuous than in sea- 
sons of hurricane. Like some ships, he rides steadiest 
in rough seas. When people around him are most dis- 
turbed, he is often the most calm. 

There is doubtless an element in his nature which 
rejoices In conflict and storm. I remember once finding 
him in his private room at the House of Commons 
when it was urgent to bring him word that Scotland 
Yard reported the Intention of certain persons to take 
his Hfe. His response was to strike up a verse of a 
great Welsh hymn which passed beyond my scope of 
understanding; but it was clear, from the flash of the 

319, 



320 THE PRIME MINISTER 

eye, that it was a song of rejoicing. "Well," I said, 
"aren't you at all disturbed?" "No," he said, "w'lth 
the world in storm I rejoice. I love all this smashing 
of windows and tumult of nations. I remember the 
saying of a great Welsh preacher: 'Such disturbances 
of the world always mean some great movement in 
the realms above' — a reflection on earth of some heav- 
enly strife. I believe that is true." I did not attempt 
to argue with this mood; but this sympathy with unrest 
explains much in his career, and most of all his skill in 
riding through tempests and mastering storms. For 
it Is at such moments that he is at his best. Nothing 
seems to frighten or appal him. When the hearts of 
others are dismayed he Is touched with a new emotion. 
It Is a kind of exaltation, which seems to work in 
some kind of harmony with that universal spirit which 
rides the storm and works through the whirlwind. 

It is these moods which have most confused his 
critics and distorted their judgment of him. Those 
who know Mr. Lloyd George only on one side of his 
nature have always expected to see him fall over some 
political precipice. His zeal, in their opinion, would 
eat him up. He would just run the hot course of so 
many furious political firebrands. Some rash and hasty 
blunder would occur, and he would flare out into the 
darkness. 

Yet this disaster has never occurred. And why? 
Because behind all those flashes of spirit there has been 
a steady pursuing purpose; discreet, cautious, shrewd. 
"Whenever Mr. Lloyd George seems most rash," said 
to me an old friend of his who has seen him in many 
situations, "I always know that there is a cold, shrewd 
calculation behind it." 




From a photof/rarih bij Miss Olive Edis. F.R.P.S. 



MHS. LLOYD GEOHOE 




Photo b]/ Brovm, Barnes, and Bell, Liverpool. 



DAVID LLOYD GEORGE AS A YOUNG MAK. 



THE MAN 321 

It was a true judgment. For, with his great power 
of words, he combines a tremendous sense of facts. If 
he finds himself on the wrong course, he will often 
hark back. If he has erred in speech he will apologise. 
After the most vehement attack he will make friends 
with his victim. It is this combination of the slow 
qualities with the swift — of judgment with daring, of 
mercy with rigour, of slow reflection with swift attack, 
of the zeal of the Cambrian with the shrewdness of 
the Fleming — that marks him off from so many of his 
race. For it is not so much the emphasis of one quality 
as the combination of several contrasted qualities that 
goes to make human greatness. 

Like all great stalkers and trappers, Mr. Lloyd 
George is very difficult to follow. He has often dou- 
bled on his tracks whilst his faithful disciples are still 
walking straight into the danger. He talks so freely 
and frankly that his paths seem to be those wherein 
wayfarers, though fools, may not err. But with all 
that frankness he really keeps his own counsel and 
forms his own decisions. That is why so many simple 
people are so surprised — and sometimes even a little 
hurt — to find that, after they have given him the very 
best of their advice, he has just gone on his own way. 

Mr. Lloyd George by no means despises the tactics 
of public appeal. If necessary, he will use even the 
theatrical in order to impress the public mind. Soon 
after the Birmingham riot, at the height of the Boer 
War, his friends opened the Daily Express to find that 
there was a scheme afoot to do him violence at a meet- 
ing to be held in Bristol that evening. They wired a 
warning to the organisers of the meeting at Bristol. 
They need not have troubled; for whatever danger 



822 THE PRIME MINISTER 

faced him was of Mr. Lloyd George's own fashioning. 
He had deliberately gone to the office of the Daily 
Express, advertised the place of the meeting, an- 
nounced his Intention to denounce the war, and prac- 
tically challenged them to kill him. The organisers 
at Bristol had done their best to conceal the meeting. 
This was his way of correcting the discretion of his 
own friends. 

This was immediately after that reverberating event 
at Birmingham, when he In fact nearly lost his life. 
Late on that stormy evening he rang me up in the 
Daily News office from Birmingham. He wished me 
to go and Inform his wife at Wandsworth that he was 
safe. "But," I said, "what I am to tell her? Where 
are you?" "That I cannot divulge," he said in a laugh- 
ing voice. "At present I am a member of the Bir- 
mingham Police Force" — and he gave me his number. 
Through the telephone I could hear the tinkling of 
cups. "Well," I said, "you are having a good sup- 
per." "Yes," he said, "we are making merry, and 
the mob are making merry outside. We are both 
happy!" It was perhaps characteristic of the calmness 
of his domestic life that, on reaching Wandsworth late 
that night, I found the house closed and the whole 
family fast asleep. Mrs. Lloyd George happily had 
not heard of the danger through which he was passing 
at Birmingham. 

Then, as now, this habit of courage was always his 
supreme public characteristic. "Of all qualities In pub- 
lic fife," he said to me once, "courage is the rarest." 
From the earliest episodes of his career, from that day 
when he defied the Bench in North Wales, here — in 
his courage — has always been the conscious centre of 
his power. He has always believed that if you want 



THE MAN 323 

to destroy a popular idol you must learn to face It and 
to fight It — to put It to open shame — If necessary, to 
insult. it. Fear rules the minds of men; and against 
fear courage alone prevails. This was always the mov- 
ing faith at the back of all his great campaigns, whether 
of peace or of war. It was with this weapon that 
he has fought both Governments at home and Prus- 
sians abroad. It was the element of policy that under- 
lay that frank directness of speech which offended the 
cultured classes of England so profoundly at the time 
of his Budget campaign. 

For he convinced himself that modern public speak- 
ers had, got into the habit of referring too politely to 
great national evils. He believed that the ;nost effec- 
tive weapon to use against these evils was to revive 
some of the lost frankness of our forefathers. His 
great aim was to prove that it was safe to speak as 
plainly about a duke as about an ordinary citizen. He 
had known in his young days how cowed men could 
be, how fearful of shadows, how frightened by ghosts. 
The thing he had most admired about Mr. Chamber- 
lain was his plainness of speech. It was his deliberate 
policy to revive that habit. Mr. Lloyd George's ora- 
tory of the year 191 1 was the direct successor of Mr. 
Chamberlain's during the years between 1886 and 

1893. 

As to the abuse he encountered, he counted that as 
a political gain. He was fond of the story of the 
workman who had heard a political agent expressing 
terror at the fury of a certain class. "Bless my heart !" 
said the workman, "we never thinks you mean business 
until they squeals." So it was with the avalanches of 
calumny which fell upon Mr. Lloyd George between 
191 1 and 1 9 14. He knew that it was the penalty of 



324 THE PRIME MINISTER 

challenging the powers in high places. It showed that 
his proposals really "meant business." "Their abuse," 
says Sir Fretful Plagiary in The Critic, "is the best 
panegyric." So Mr. Lloyd George ploughed the road 
to fame through the abuse of those years. 

Yet all the time he suffered. He has a heart very 
sensitive to the affections of the people. He was puz- 
zled at the way men hated him. It was not the dan- 
ger of It he minded; for he would scarcely allow the 
Scotland Yard men to protect him. It was the pain 
of It. He frankly hates dislike; his nature craves the 
sun; he Is at his'best among friends. "I cannot Imagine 
why they detest me so," he said one day during that 
time. "I seem to be the best hated man In England." 
The reply was obvious. "If one half of England hates 
you too much, then surely the other half loves you too 
absurdly." He was Instantly all smiles. "That Is per- 
fectly true," he cried — and put the melancholy thoughts 
aside. 

During the struggle over the Licensing Bill of 1908 
he received numerous postcards written In what was 
Intended to be blood, but looked suspiciously like red 
ink. These documents generally threatened him with 
Instant death, probably combined with torture — "some- 
thing lingering, with boiling oil." They came, or pro- 
fessed to come, from enraged publicans fearful for 
their livelihood. These postcards got curiously on his 
nerves. "I don't mind so much being killed," he said 
one day, "but I should hate being killed by a publican." 
There seemed to him something curiously unsatisfac- 
tory in such a way of going out. 

But In general he has taken little heed of threats. 
It was only with great difficulty that the Attorney- 
General could persuade him to sanction a prosecution 



THE MAN 32'5 

in the famous case of the poisoned arrow conspiracy. 
He was always in favour of leniency to the Suffragettes. 
It is not merely that he hates excessive punishment. 
His haunting sense of humour seems to be offended by 
the idea that he is taking up so much room in the world. 
He dislikes the attendance of detectives almost as much 
as Mr. Gladstone did. "Can you possibly tell m~e 
where Mr. Lloyd George is going?" was the frequent 
cry of those unhappy followers of Mr. Lloyd George 
to his friends in those perilous days of civil strife. 
"He is always giving us the slip," was their complaint. 
Sitting one day on one of those little green chairs In 
the Green Park for which the Loraloner pays his obol 
— a favourite seat of his in those days of peace — at 
the end of a long talk he sighed and looked grave. He 
inclined his head towards a shabby-looking individual 
who was smoking a pipe and sitting not far off under 
a tree reading a newspaper with apparent indifference 
to the whole world around him. "There is my guardian 
angel!" said Mr. Lloyd George. 

It is not only in facing hostile audiences that he has 
displayed his courage. He has never hesitated to tell 
his friends the truth. He has that gift of leadership 
which consists of making followers do something which 
they do not want to do. He has put aside all fear of 
those great Influences which overshadow English pub- 
lic life — birth, money, prestige, caste. He represents 
in high places a new freedom from all those bogles — 
almost the realisation of Robbie Burns's dream: 

"For a' that, an' a' that, 

It's coming yet for a' that, 

That man to man, the world o'er, 

Shall brithers be for a' that." 

Not in his most vehement LImehouse days did he 



S26 THE PRIME MINISTER 

say anything stronger than the Scotch ploughman said 
in his famous song: 

"Ye see yon birkie ca'd a lord, 

Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that; 
Tho' hundreds worship at his word, 
He's but a coof for a' that." 

Mr. Lloyd George, in fact, always tests man by what 
is in him; not by the guinea stamp, or by the pedigree. 
Why should he not? Birth! What birth can there 
be higher than that of a Welshman ? — "The oldest race 
in these islands." Money? "I can always get money 
for a cause; there is no difficulty about money." That 
has always been hi# view; and who Qan wonder that 
such should be the belief of a man who has made mil- 
lionaires subscribe for their own taxation! 

Of prestige he is perhaps more fearful. He was 
tremendously impressed with Oxford when he stayed 
in that town for some days on his visit to the Pal- 
merston Club during the Boer War. "I am glad I 
never came here," he said. "I should never have re- 
covered from the influence of this place; it would have 
been with me all my life." He was indeed strongly 
gripped by Oxford and its "dreaming towers." After 
two days of it he was, for the moment, half subdued. 
"Ah!" he said, "how the past holds you here." All 
of which shows what a mistake our forefathers made 
when they excluded the Nonconformists from our 
ancient universities. 

It is indeed quite a mistake to suppose that Mr. 
Lloyd George is dead to the voices of the past. There 
is no greater delusion than to regard him as an unlet- 
tered man. If the best education is to turn a boy loose 
in a library, then he has enjoyed to the full that form 
of schooling. He started life with the training of a 



THE MAN 327 

lawyer, which he always claims to be the best mental 
discipline to which a human mind can be subjected. 
Those laborious explorations of French and the classics 
through which he passed with his "Uncle Lloyd" as 
companion, were certainly not less useful as a training 
than the fugitive crammings of the average University 
undergraduate. At any rate, he learnt to read for 
himself; and to absorb what he read. Since those 
early days he has been a wide reader in all his spare 
time. He knows his English historians better than 
most EngHshmen. He can hold his own with most 
classical scholars in discussions on ancient history. 
Perhaps, Indeed, Rome holds him most of all the coun- 
tries. He knows his Mommsen well, and he spent the 
long convalescence from the throat illness that came to 
him after the Budget in reading some of the latest 
Italian historians of ancient Rome. He emerged from 
that illness a formidable expert In later Roman his- 
tory, especially In the land laws of the Gracchi. In 
fact, he has most of the outfit of the scholar except the 
scholar's pride. 

Parallels from history are dangerous; but they al- 
ways haunt the mind of a well-read Imaginative man. 
Mr. Lloyd George is very fond of them. One eve- 
ning in 1908, when we were sitting in the Orangerle 
at Stuttgart, In a pause of the German tour of that 
year, the conversation began to turn on the possibilities 
of a war between Britain and Germany. The parallel 
of Rome and Carthage came like a flash from Mr. 
Lloyd George; it brought from him one of those far- 
reaching forecasts which, In other days, would have 
earned him the mantle of a prophet. "There is the 
same commercial rivalry," he said, "the same sea jeal- 
ousy, the same abiding quarrel between the soldier and 



328 THE PRIME MINISTER 

the merchant, the warrior and the shopkeeper, the 
civilisation that has arrived and the civilisation that is 
still struggling to arrive." He paused, and then he 
added: "I wonder If we shall be as unprepared as 
Carthage; I wonder if we shall be as torn by faction?" 

It is curious to look back now on that conversation, 
In that comfortable, well-lighted garden — the pride of 
that old German town — with the vault of stars above 
us, and the murmur of a great city around us. We 
thought no more of It at the time. But now It comes 
back. 

In his games, Mr. Lloyd George Is a keen sports- 
man. Golfers, as a class, have the seriousness of 
rehgious devotees. But no man could pursue the little 
white ball round a course with a steadier concentration 
than Mr. Lloyd George. No player could be keener 
on victory. "Golf Is like life," he loves to say, "you 
never quite make up for losing a hole." His game has 
much Improved in recent years ; though he never claims 
to be a champion. He has not again repeated the 
achievement of "holing out In one." That was at 
Cannes In the far-off, merry days before the Great 
War. It had the beauty of the unexpected. He drove 
off: and lo and behold! the ball disappeared. The 
caddies hunted everywhere; and It was just being pro- 
nounced a "lost ball," when a sharp youth looked Into 
the hole, and there the ball was quietly reposing I 

It Is usual on these occasions to present the caddy 
with a bottle of whisky. Mr. Lloyd George gave the 
lad five francs; and of course there were candid friends 
who said that the caddy had put the ball in the hole. 
There are always critics, even on the golf-course. 

His worst enemies cannot accuse Mr. Lloyd George 
of "side"; so there are some who say that he has not 



THE MAN 3^9 

enough. He is, in fact, the simplest of men, fond of 
being surrounded with friends, and very faithful to the 
humble friends of his youth. He is curiously uncon- 
scious of his own position in the world. To one who 
congratulated him on his elevation to the Premiership 
he merely replied, "Oh! I had forgotten that!" And 
I believe that he had. 

This simplicity makes him very thorough. He 
knows his own ignorance. When he was Chancellor 
of the Exchequer he went to Somerset House and went 
carefully through the whole system of the old land 
taxes and their working. When he was guiding his 
Budget through the House of Commons he had a daily 
meeting of the Treasury experts, with whom he dis- 
cussed every detail. That is always his method — to 
learn all he can from others. He is a great listener, 
and learns rather by the ear than by the eye. 

He is very considerate for his secretaries and his 
staff; but he works them hard. He has no place for 
"slackerl." When he first went to the Treasury, he 
astounded that august Department by beginning work 
at ten o'clock. They soon caught the habit, for later 
on they slaved for him in a way that astonished the 
onlooker. He can make others work because he works 
himself. 

At one time he took a great interest in the organisa- 
tion of the Civil Service. On first becoming a Min- 
ister, he was astonished to discover the rigidity of the 
division between the First and Second Classes of the 
Civil Service. He wished the system to be more fluid. 
Once he was struck by the ability of a certain civil 
servant, and he wished to place him in a position of 
trust. "It is impossible!" was the reply; "he is only a 
second division clerk." Mr. Lloyd George looked up 



S30 THE PRIME MINISTER 

with a flash of whimsical indignation. "Why!" he 
rephed, "1 am only a second division clerk myself 1" 

Whenever one tries to discover the secret of his 
power over men, one comes back to that supreme gift 
of his — the gift of the silver tongue — the power of 
pubhc speech. That is, after all, the thing that has 
made him supreme over men. To hear him at his best 
one must hear him on a public platform, addressing a 
great public audience. There are few fireworks, no 
shouting, no declaiming. He opens easily, in a soft, 
quiet voice : he always works up to his effects. There 
are "purple patches" now and again; but the bulk of it 
seems almost conversational, and is often broken by 
colloquial phases — "Can you hear at the back there?" 
"Ah I well, you must Hsten if you want me to speak to 
you." He is almost always very soon on good terms 
with his audience; it is only by shouting him down that 
his enemies can prevent that. He is never angry on a 
public platform; he seems always quite at home, as if 
it was his real natural element. He can be scathing at 
times — withering, scornful, contemptuous. But that 
mood rarely lasts long. He generally returns swiftly 
to his gentler moods — persuasion, appeal, emotion. 
He almost always prepares a careful peroration, gen- 
erally a memorised piece of prose poetry, very often 
drawn from some great phase of nature — from the 
hills or the sea. Then his speeches end on the high 
note; and his audiences go home with a sense of having 
been uplifted. 

There they are right — for it is precisely his power 
as a speaker to uplift the hearts of men. He has his 
own moods. But from those he carefully selects the 
very best, and gives them to the world. No public 
man can do more. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS 

"Jog, jog on, the foot-path way, 
And merrily hent the stile-a: 
A merry heart goes all the day, 
Your sad tires in a mile-a." 
Autolycus in Shakespeare's The Winters Tale, Act IV, Sc. ii. 

But, on the whole, it is the future rather than the 
past that rules the mind of David Lloyd George. 

To him the future has always been an unexplored 
miracle — ever in travail with some new birth. To 
him, behind the veil of the coming time, there always 
lies a possibility of some event such as the world has 
never known — of some creation such as the world has 
never seen. He has moods when he seems "fey" with 
his belief. "I am out to abolish slums," he cried one 
evening, in 19 12, walking across London upon a win- 
ter's night beneath a starless sky. He meant it. His 
bitterest enemy could not have laughed at that utter- 
ance if he had heard it. 

In such moods he was at that time (1908-12) indeed 
"The little Brother of the poor." He was filled with 
a certain storming passion of pity, so powerful that it 
seemed to destroy all obstacles — to bridge all diffi- 
culties. All the accumulated memories of his own 
childhood — all the recollections of the poor cottagers 
among whom he had been brought up, all their suffer- 
ings and pains, all their oppressions and tragedies, 

331 



332 THE PRIME MINISTER 

seemed to be moving behind him like some great tide 
and driving him on. I remember his explaining once 
his own consciousness of the mark which such an up- 
bringing left on a man's life. He was talking about 
the East End Settlement movement, and of its attempt 
to bring the leisured classes nearer to the workers. He 
was a little doubtful. "It is a gulf which can never be 
bridged," he said. "You people can never understand 
what It Is to be really hungry or out of work. The 
difference lies In security. The poor man is always in 
danger, and he always knows it." 

It was such a knowledge that Inspired him with his 
enthusiasm for Old Age Pensions and for his Insurance 
Schemes. It was just this security that he wanted to 
give to the life of the poor. And yet he has never 
been a sentimentalist over their troubles. He looks at 
them, so to speak, from the inside. The sentimental- 
Ism of the philanthropic middle classes rather annoys 
him. What he always craves for the poor Is justice, 
and not charity. In the days of the Insurance Act he 
was sincerely afraid of creating a dependent working 
class. He was surprised when he received so little 
help in his contributory policy. "I will never try to be 
good again," he said laughingly one day. "They call 
me a demagogue, and next time I will really be one." 
Such was his chaff. 

In conversation he first expressed the Idea of social 
Insurance by a parallel from the Canadian farmer who 
Insures his wheat against early winter frosts. That 
was the Image in which he expressed his sense of the 
vast power of the modern State to build up a properly 
organised system of individual security. Having once 
conceived this idea, the various benefits came to him in 



HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS 333 

waves of compassion — sickness, invalidity, maternity, 
consumption. He worked all these benefits out from 
his own experience of the sorrows of the poor. "I 
want to make the little stranger welcome," he said one 
day, talking about the maternity benefit. "It is hor- 
rible to think that he should come trailing clouds of 
trouble instead of 'clouds of glory.' " The story of 
the consumptive benefits is interesting. He had not 
felt the need of this benefit until one night he read 
through a very powerful medical work describing the 
ravages of consumption in modern Britain. The extent 
of the evil at once fully dawned on him. He came 
down In the morning with his mind fully made up. He 
went straight to the Treasury, called together his ex- 
perts, told them to put aside £1,500,000 to fight con- 
sumption,^ and so created that famous sanatorium 
benefit which is still proving only the first step towards 
removing a gigantic evil. 

He faced all these familiar troubles of modern life 
with a "divine discontent" new to modern men. We 
all knew these things; but most of us had become so 
familiar with them that our anger was blunted. Our 
reforming temper had grown tired and stale. But this 
Welshman approached the matter with some of the 
ardour of the revivalist. He would not accept the 
ordinary excuses; he believed these evils to be curable. 
Fresh from the Welsh hills, he flamed with a new sur- 
prise at the power of poverty over modern civilisation. 
He showed some of the ingenuous dismay of a sur- 
prised Gotama emerging from his garden. He real- 
ised that private efforts had been tried and found in- 

*As a capital sum for building, in addition to £1,000,000 a year 
for maintenance out of the Insurance Fund. Even these sums have 
proved quite inadequate. 



834 THE PRIME MINISTER 

adequate. What he saw with a flash was that the 
State alone could cope with the evils produced by the 
State ; the Government must become the parent and no, 
longer the stepmother of Its own children. 

Once he realised this idea he was eager to carry it 
into effect. He was passing from one great effort to 
another — from the Insurance Act to the Land Cam- 
paign — when the Great War burst upon him. Then 
the very elements of civilisation had to be defended 
against an even greater peril. 

It is recorded that the rebuilders of the Temple had 
to build every one with "his sword girded by his 
side." ^ There must have been times when they had 
to lay down the trowel entirely and work with the 
sword alone. Such a time came to Mr. Lloyd George 
in 19 14; the trowel was only laid down. Now it is 
being taken up again. 

What struck the observer most in his achievements 
during those years ( 1908-14) was his daring and orig- 
inality. Plenty of clever English minds had been work- 
ing on these problems ever since 1886. But how little 
had been done! How long we had had to wait for 
Pensions and Insurance ! How strangely academic and 
remote were all those University and West End specu- 
lations on these problems ! How quarrelsome were the 
philanthropists! How divided were the English La- 
bour leaders! Then from outside came this zealous 
Welsh Crusader, and while all these people were still 
talking he proceeded to act. When the world had 
recovered from Its surprise most of the persons con- 
cerned turned round and attacked Mr. Lloyd George. 
However right he might be in his aim, there was always 

^Neheraiah IV, 8. 



HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS S35 

sure to be something wrong with his methods. This 
attitude frankly puzzled him. "Why! they talk as if 
I was trespassing," he used to say. "Is charity, then, 
a form of property? Is kindness a monopoly?" The 
attitude of the doctors especially surprised him. "I 
have made a discovery," he said one day with a twinkle 
in his eye. "I have discovered that disease is a vested 
interest!" 

Throughout all these struggles over social reform 
Mr. Lloyd George tempered his enthusiasm with a very 
even sense of political tactics. He knew well that, to 
carry England with him, he must always have a great 
political party at his back. There were times when this 
was not easy. Neither of the great political party 
machines In this country is exactly impassioned for new 
ideas. It is rather typical of the faithful party man 
to view a new proposal with actual dislike. "Why not 
leave it all alone?" is a common attitude with all 
parties. 

Then there is the value of a grievance. There is 
even a type of party man who actually regrets to see 
his cause succeed. "If we pass the Bill we shall lose 
the cry!" you hear him say. "Mr. Lloyd George is 
passing too many Acts of Parliament," was the com- 
mon complaint of the period among the very faithful. 

To this type of man the Budget of 1909-10 was 
rather a distracting affair. They were always trying 
to "dilute" It. The Insurance Bill, too, would cer- 
tainly have been thrown over If Mr. Lloyd George 
had not staked his fortunes on it; and, as to the Land 
Campaign, that was viewed with open disfavour in the 
same quarters. For every party has its priesthood; 



S36 THE PRIME MINISTER 

and in politics, as in religion, all priesthoods are con- 
servative. 

But, in spite of all this trouble within the party, Mr. 
Lloyd George was always resolute not to quarrel with 
the machine. One of his fixed principles was — "Keep 
the party machine on your side." He was certainly 
not a typical party man — far from it. He regarded 
the party as the instrument and the cause as the end; 
whereas the typical party view is that the cause is the 
instrument and the party the end. But he knew the 
power of the machine; he often quoted Mr. Chamber- 
lain as an instance showing that in the end the machine 
won. "Mr. Chamberlain fought both of the machines 
In turn," he used to say, "and, in the end, both com- 
bined against him and beat him." Roosevelt was an- 
other case which impressed him deeply. "Ah !" he 
commented, when that great man was beaten so de- 
cisively in 19 13, "Roosevelt ought not to have quar- 
relled with the machine." 

On these grounds he has often accepted the second 
best in policy. 

He has often allowed himself to be convinced against 
his will. After the defeat of the Education Bill in 
1906, for instance, he was as eager to go back to the 
country as Mr. Gladstone after the Lords' rejection 
of Home Rule in 1893. Both these great fighters felt 
instinctively that a party which accepts a defeat asks 
to be defeated again until It Is finally smashed. You 
cannot expect a country to vote for ever for a party 
that accepts defeat as its proper portion. But in this 
case, as in others, rather than quarrel with his party, 
he acquiesced in the decision to go on. 

Still, he was glad when the split with the Lords 



HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS 337 

became irrevocable. It happened that I had the for- 
tune of announcing to him the resolution of the Lords 
to throw out the Budget. It was down at Lord Ren- 
del's beautiful house near Guildford, where Mr. Lloyd 
George was staying for the last time with that faithful 
Nestor of Welsh Liberalism. Mr. Lloyd George had 
been very anxious. He knew that the wiser Unionist 
leaders in the Lords had been in favour of accepting 
his Bill. He was afraid that the Lords were going to 
refuse battle on grounds so favourable to their assail- 
ants. When I told him the news his face shone. "The 
Lord," he cried, "has delivered them into our hands!" 
In the same way, he has always been very slow to 
take the step of resignation from high political office. 
How often have his friends — generally a man's worst 
advisers — urged him to resign over some failure to 
gain his own way! But he well knows that there is 
nothing more difficult in pohtics than the art of resign- 
ing opportunely. You must have a great issue and you 
must have your people behind you. "You cannot be 
always resigning," was one of his favourite sayings 
during the critical years of 1909-12. It is true that 
he often came near it, but he would generally com- 
promise the matter and pass on. He was equally 
against Cabinets resigning in a hurry. After the sec- 
ond General Election of 19 10 there was a meeting 
when the Liberal Cabinet, wearied out with a long 
struggle, was on the verge of resignation. Every mem- 
ber who spoke at this fateful meeting had favoured 
resignation. Mr. Lloyd George felt strongly opposed 
to it, but he was almost silenced by the unanimity of his 
colleagues. At last he scribbled a line and threw it 



338 THE PRBIE MINISTER 

across to Mr. Winston Churchill. "I feel strongly 
against resignation," he wrote. "What do you think?" 
Mr. Winston Churchill scribbled below: "If you feel 
against it, speak against it." Mr. Lloyd George spoke 
against it, and spoke so persuasively that the idea of 
resignation was dropped. 

Even on fundamental issues he would often accept 
personal defeat for the time. He had to decide 
whether to go out into the wilderness or to work with 
men to whom he was attached, and with whose ideas 
he broadly and profoundly sympathised. When the 
draft of the new Home Rule Bill was before the Cabi- 
net in 19 lo he moved to exclude Protestant Ulster. 
He made the longest speech he had ever addressed to 
a Cabinet on that issue. He prophesied what was cer- 
tainly coming — the resistance of Ulster; the refusal of 
Protestant England to join in coercing her; the hesita- 
tion of the Government to carry out their Act. He 
was in favour of telling the Irish Party straightaway 
that the Government of 19 10 was not strong enough 
to include Ulster in the Home Rule Bill. He would 
have left the Irish Party to accept or reject the Bill as 
it would have then stood. He himself believed that in 
such a case Ulster would come in during the parlia- 
mentary discussions on the Bill. He was defeated in 
His proposal. Being defeated, he loyally stood by the 
Cabinet and steadily supported the Bill. It was not 
until long afterwards, when he himself became Prime 
Minister and responsible for policy, that he revealed 
to the world In that dramatic speech which drove the 
Irish Party out of the House, the fact that he had 
always been in favour of the exclusion of Ulster. 



HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS 339 

In literature and art Mr. Lloyd George does not 
pretend to be among the elect. He gives himself no 
airs and has no pretensions. He is just himself. He 
states, without parley, his own genuine opinions on 
books and pictures; and, as that is the rarest habit in 
the world, it is always interesting. Nine out of ten 
literary and artistic judgments are reflections or echoes 
— repeated at second-hand from some bolder speaker, 
or even vaguely salvaged from the dim abysses of mem- 
ory. The most refreshing thing in the world, there- 
fore, is an honest, fresh, and original judgment. It is 
characteristic of Mr. Lloyd George that he never hesi- 
tates to give that in any company. 

In literature he votes with both hands for Byron, 
perhaps because Byron is the poet of liberty, and also 
because that great writer, with all his faults, has the 
quality of daring. But he boldly contends that the 
Welsh are among the greatest of modern poets; and 
he will recite their verses at large, even to English 
friends, in order to confirm his claim. 

In prose, he is devoted to George Meredith. 

In music, he places Handel first among his heroes. 
There, again, in great works hke the Messiah, he seems 
to discover some quality of sublimity which elates and 
inspires him. 

But there, again, his living passion is really national- 
ist and based on national affections. The only music 
that profoundly moves him — ^touches his soul — is the 
music of the old Welsh hymns and folk-songs. Not 
long ago he spoke up boldly for the music and litera- 
ture of his own nation before all the world.^ There 

^At the Welsh Eisteddfod of 1917. 



340 THE PRIME MINISTER 

he voiced his own deepest conviction on these matters. 
The music and songs of his own people strike the deep- 
est chord In his nature. 

In religion his outlook always seems to be broadly 
Christian rather than sectarian. Brought up In his 
uncle's creed of the "Disciples of Christ," which is 
really an attempt to hark back to the purity of the 
early Gospel teaching, he has an Inherited hatred for 
dogmas. He Is very fond of such parables as those of 
the Good Samaritan, which he instinctively regards as 
the best comment on the claims of priestcraft. 

He has a profound interest in all forms of Chris- 
tianity. There was a time, many years ago, when he 
was fond of going the round of the Churches. He 
would also listen in the old days with the closest inter- 
est to the discourses of the Salvationist preachers on 
Wandsworth Common; and he would often contribute 
to their collections, and talk to their officers. And 
yet, at the other extreme, he has always had a curious 
admiration for Roman Catholicism. He would some- 
times argue that the Methodist discipline In Wales was 
founded on the Catholic model. I remember going 
with him into a London Catholic Church where he lis- 
tened with rapt attention to the chanting of the Latin 
psalms. There was something in the roll of the lan- 
guage which penetrated and held him. But he was 
always a great listener. He would never complain at 
the length of a sermon. When at Brighton he would 
take his friends to listen to the preaching of a young 
Nonconformist minister at whose feet he sat with 
whole-hearted admiration. He would always argue 
that the standard of preaching among the Noncon- 
formists had steadily risen and was now higher than 



HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS 341 

among the Anglicans. He attributed that fact very 
largely to post-graduate colleges like Mansfield. He 
was a great admirer of Principal Fairbairn, and would 
listen to that great man's hour-long discourses without 
moving an eyelid. 

Wit is his most sparkling characteristic; and there 
are few companies of talkers among whom he is not 
the wittiest. His laugh will change the mood of the 
gravest men, just as his smile has been known to affect 
the attitude of immense multitudes. And yet wit is not 
his greatest gift. I should place higher that power of 
insight into deep truths which he will display in sym- 
pathetic company. Generally the theme of this insight 
will be politics; and there Is no subject which he is more 
swift to illuminate with telling phrase. In these moods 
he will seem to be looking at all parties, and even at 
himself, from the outside. It is an extraordinary gift 
of detachment, literary and artistic in its nature, and 
peculiarly rare in a party politician. It goes with a 
Celtic love of whimsical paradox, like the talk of a man 
at his ease, a little disturbing to the strait sect of the 
faithful party men. 

But it will not always be politics that his mind plays 
on in this manner. In moments of relaxation he will 
take a wider range. Sometimes it will be this very 
subject of religion, which is never very far absent from 
his thoughts. "Christianity," he said to me once, "is 
like a gold-mine. We are always imagining that, it is 
exhausted, and that no more gold can come out of it. 
Then humanity digs a little deeper, and it always comes 
across a fresh seam." He always seems to be digging 
a little deeper himself. 



342 THE PRIME MINISTER 

His judgments of great men who came before are 
always just a little Inclined to severity, perhaps as a 
rebound from the snobbery of history. Looking round 
at that great gallery of the Englishmen of Napoleonic 
days which adorns the breakfast-room at lo, Downing 
Street — Pitt, Wellington, Nelson, Fox, Burke — he said 
once: "None of them were very great — the greatest 
of them all was the man in the little frame in the cor- 
ner — the man they honoured least — the Irishman, Ed- 
mund Burke." Perhaps it was the orator and the 
thinker in Burke that drew him. Or perhaps, even 
more, the Celt, 

But it would be unfair to take him too seriously in 
these judgments. He is above all things a conversa- 
tionalist in regard to all such matters. It is only in 
politics that he would ask to be taken as an expert. 
There he works very gravely and arduously. It is 
sometimes said that he does not read much. When he 
can, indeed, he prefers, like many very busy men, to 
acquire knowledge by the ear; and he likes to meet men 
who know, and to learn from them. But he can read 
widely and deeply when he thinks it necessary. He 
will read steadily through great Blue-books when he is 
preparing a parliamentary case; and when he was pre- 
paring for the Insurance Act he studied deeply and 
widely the whole literature of English social conditions, 
and in the parliamentary debates he displayed astonish- 
ing mastery. 

He is a great newspaper reader. It is his habit to 
read practically the chief daily newspapers in bed in 
the morning before he comes down to breakfast; and 
it Is somewhat disconcerting for his breakfast guests 
to discover that he already knows all the news of the 



HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS 343 

day. He never reads either a newspaper or a letter at 
any meal. He talks and attends to his guests, as every 
civilised host should do. 

"He always speaks to me as if I were the only per- 
son in the world," said one who met him rarely, and 
was opposed to him in politics. That utterance ex- 
plains, perhaps, better than any other the secret of his 
social power. He has a profound sense of equality, 
and will treat the humblest human being*as courteously 
as the highest. He is always very popular with humble 
people who serve him, such as hall-porters or maid- 
servants. 

Not, indeed, that he suffers from that inverted snob- 
bery which puts its boots on drawing-room sofas and 
reserves its insolence for crowned heads. It is well 
known that King George V and Mr. Lloyd George are 
sincere friends, and bound by mutual respect and ad- 
miration. The friendship began after the death of the 
King's father, and has deepened ever since. They 
have much in common — habits of arduous industry, the 
love of home and family, the passion for simple things. 
In private he constantly expresses his deep esteem and 
regard for the King as a man and a father. He is 
thoroughly at home in that happy domestic atmosphere 
of the present Court. 

He is a splendid travelling companion; he loves the 
novelty and stimulus of foreign touring. He likes the 
friendly open-air life of foreign capitals; and he is 
never tired of exploring new cities. They come back 
now as radiant memories — those travels over Europe 
which we took together in earlier, peaceful days — in 
France and the Tyrol, over plains and mountains, 
through villages and cities. 



344 THE PRIME MINISTER 

One experience comes vividly back. We were stay- 
ing in a little Tyrolese village named Vent. Some of 
us, being mountain climbers by election, had set off at 
3 a.m., the climber's hour, to mount a high snow-peak, 
the Similaun. We returned In the afternoon to find 
that Mr. Lloyd George had disappeared from the inn. 

He returned later and told us his experience. He 
had tired of his reading, looked up at the glistening 
peaks and decided that he, too, could and would climb 
mountains. He had taken his stick, set off alone, and 
proceeded to attack the nearest peak, without ice-axe 
or guide. He surmounted a rock-rldge, crossed a 
glacier, and reached a distant height. None of us 
could comprehend how he managed to return alive. 

There It Is again, in small matters as in big — this 
note of daring, of refusal to accept defeat, of assertive 
invincibility. It is the key-note of his character. In 
every study of David Lloyd George It pursues you 
everywhere and all the time. 

There never was a time in human history when such 
a quality was more needed. Frowning heights lie be- 
hind and in front of — roaring cataracts of catastrophe 
— gleaming peaks of suffering and sacrifice — frozen 
glaciers of death, seamed and crevassed with agony. 
May he help us to win through ! 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THROUGH FOREIGN EYES 

Praise enough 
To fill the ambition of a private man, 
That Chatham s language was his mother tongue 
And Wolfe's great name compatriot with his own. 

COWPER. 

Travelling about the world before the Great War, 
no one could fail to notice that the name of Mr. Lloyd 
George had already become an ensign. Men had be- 
gun to apply it to that particular type of statesman, 
becoming happily less rare, who take risks on behalf 
of the "common people." It had become a way of 
classifying a statesman to speak, of him as "Our Lloyd 
George." This was especially the case with little na- 
tions. In Norway, for instance, during the winter of 
1 9 13-14, I found that that remarkable social reformer, 
Mr. Castberg, was generally spoken of as the "Nor- 
wegian Lloyd George" ; and on meeting him I was sur- 
prised to find how closely he was modelling his policy 
on that of the British statesman. His chief aspiration 
was to meet Mr. Lloyd George and discuss with him 
his own schemes for simplifying and enlarging Nor- 
wegian social insurance and reforming their land sys- 
tem. 

This was but one example of a very general 
tendency. There was another remarkable fact. Those 

345 



346 THE PRIME MINISTER 

who met and talked with Socialists either in France or 
in Germany during 19 12-14, niust have been astonished 
to discover that, in speaking of Great Britain, their 
thoughts were concerned not with any British Socialist 
leader, but almost always with Mr. Lloyd George. 
The reason of this was simple, but illuminating. Eu- 
ropean Socialism had for half a century been hand- 
cuffed to an impracticable idealism. Here was a man 
who achieved things. He might be an opportunist and 
a compromiser. Well, then, there was something to 
be said for opportunism and compromise. For the 
great thing was that, while all the idealists were still 
dreaming, this man was awake and doing.^ 

Apart from the Socialists, there was one European 
statesman who, long before the war, already realised 
Mr. Lloyd George as a possible European force. That 
was the great Cretan Greek, M. Venizelos. The in- 
stinctive mutual regard and respect of these two men 
is one of the most remarkable things in latter-day poli- 
tics. There was telepathy in it. Across the length of 
Europe they seemed to have caught some message from 
one another even before they were acquainted. It was 
Mr, Lloyd George who especially urged on the Greek 
Government that M. Venizelos should come to the 
London Conference of 19 12. It was on that visit that 
they met at the house of a friend and had a long 
conversation. They found much in common — a com- 
mon hope for the little nations, a common belief in the 
unity and federation of the Balkan States as the one 
hope of the Near East. 

^A remarkable instance of this comes to hand. Prince Kropotkin, 
in addressing the Moscow Conference (August 1917), told the Russian 
Socialists that there was more Socialism in Mr. Lloyd George's 
speeches than in all their dreams. 



THROUGH FOREIGN EYES 347 

It was after this that M. Venizelos said to a friend 
— "Mr. Lloyd George will save Europe." 

It was only gradually that Mr. Lloyd George 
emerged in Western Europe as a commanding figure 
in the world war. It was the French who first among 
European nations discovered him as a European. This 
was partly, no doubt, from some instinctive sympathy 
between the Gaul and the Celt; for very large numbers 
of Frenchmen— the Bretons— are actually still Celtic- 
even Welsh — both in thought and language. 

It was also that Mr. Lloyd George, in his great 
munitions campaign, took so many ideas from the 
French and realised in a moment, across the gulf of 
language, the extraordinary swiftness and power of 
the French mind, their amazing courage and capacity 
in enterprise and organisation. We have seen how, 
early In the war, he sat at the feet of the French Social- 
ist Minister, jVI. Albert Thomas; and how, at the 
Boulogne Conference of June, 1915, he learned from 
the French gunners. It would be foolish to pretend 
that Mr. Lloyd George talks French very well. But 
he has learnt to understand their spoken language when 
it Is uttered by masters like M. Briand and M. Thomas. 
But it was not till 1916 that Mr. Lloyd George stood 
out to the French with a bright, particular light of his 
own.^ Amid the doubts and hesitations of their own 
politicians they caught a glimpse of a man across the 
Channel who dared to lead — who ventured to tell the 
people the unpleasant truths, and to direct them to 
unpleasant duties. 

"A speaker full of free and generous inspira- 
tion," says M. Georges Leygues in the Evenement 



348 THE PRIME MINISTER 

of July 7th, 19 16, greeting his appointment to the 
Ministry of War, "he never fails in his perception 
of realities, and he goes straight to the fact. Pas- 
sionate interpreter of the soul of his people, which 
he knows so well in all its phases — living incarna- 
tion of the ardent Welsh race, he enjoys a real 
ascendency over the masses. He can make them 
understand and accept the length of the effort nec- 
essary to shake that which most offends the proud 
people of the West — that boastful and brutal bar- 
rack-yard spirit under which the German military 
caste designed to bring the free mind of the 
world." 

In December, 19 16, during the great ministerial 
crisis which led to the Lloyd George Premiership, these 
French writers saw far more clearly than the journal- 
ists of London what was at stake. In London, on both 
sides, the writers and politicians were too much ab- 
sorbed in the personal and party issue — they regarded 
it too much as a conflict of newspaper "combines." In 
France, on the other hand, the journalists all realised 
that the difference turned round great issues — great 
questions of method in the conduct of the war. Here 
is what that great journal, Le Temps, wrote on De- 
cember 7th, 1917: 

"The English ministerial crisis is just a conflict, 
at an acute stage, of two principles and methods 
of government. One represents the normal main- 
tenance of traditions, or rather of conventions, 
which have stood the proof of long administra- 
tion — the ordinary march of the governmental 



THROUGH FOREIGN EYES 349 

machine. According to this view, that machine 
can give us its full value, if only all its wheels are 
strengthened without being modified. The other 
view holds that there must be new simplifications 
of the machinery. The driving power must be 
organised and concentrated in one control — and 
that a control of energy. The time of good in- 
tentions has passed. This is no longer an affair 
of 'Wait and see.' Mr. Lloyd George takes his 
stand clearly and simply on the side of decisive 
action." 

The Temps was not alone. Philippe Millet, writing 
in L'CEuvre on the same day, showed that he had a 
glimpse of the same issue : 

"It is necessary to look beyond the conflict of 
persons. Then one discovers a practically unani- 
mous desire to constitute at last a true War Gov- 
ernment. What England has in her mind is the 
formation of a sort of Committee of Public 
Safety." 

England, he perceived, had become more revolution- 
ary than France. 

"Conscription had made a greater change in 
England because it was in itself a revolution. Be- 
ginning later than ourselves, the English have 
taken on the habit of changing their political 
organisation at great speed and as fast as the war 
compels them ; and their acquired pace is probably 
in this stage superior to ours. It is in England 
rather than in France that one sees at this mo- 
ment the spirit of Carnot reviving." 



350 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Here surely was a very profound political observa- 
tion. With the same keenness of insight M. Clemen- 
ceau, writing on July ist, 19 17, in U Homme Enchaine, 
saw in Mr. Lloyd George a great political experi- 
mentalist adapting his course always to the actual 
events of the war: 

"The English Prime Minister is, above all 
things, a man of action — one of those who, under 
' the active impulse of living thought, apply them- 
selves to one task only — and that is to bring order 
and method into the plans and resolves which 
come to them from a rigorous scrutiny of reali- 
ties." 

Other French journalists, still seeing these incidents 
more clearly from across the water, rejoiced at the 
change on the broadest possible lines. "The state of 
war," wrote M. Gustave Tery, "demands that all de- 
liberations should be brief and decisions prompt. Now 
how can they possibly be so, if all power is exercised 
by two dozen Ministers who pass half their time in dis- 
cussion and the other half in deploring their impo- 
tence?" Gustave Herve was even more outspoken in 
La Victoire (December 7th, 19 16) : 

"Roughly the veils are torn aside in all the 
allied countries; and from Petrograd to Paris, 
from London to Rome, the whole world turns 
anxiously towards their Governments, crying, 'We 
want leaders !' 

"Lloyd George has been the first in our great 
countries of the West to hear the cry of the 
people." 



THROUGH FOREIGN EYES 851 

M. Fitzmaurice, in the Figaro, foresaw how the 
crisis would end: 

"Perhaps he will not have the support of all 
his colleagues of to-day, some of whom are pre- 
cisely those whose delays and decisions he was 
arraigning, and from whose hands he wished to 
take the War Council; but he will have with him 
all the men of action of all the parties who recog- 
nise in him a true leader because they have seen 
him at work and they know that they can count 
on him. He will have with him all the English 
people and all the Allies." 

The Matin on the same day (December 7th) an- 
alysed the position as follows : 

"In reality the conflict which divides the Eng- 
lish pohtical world is nothing new in the history 
of peoples. In moments of great gravity, even of 
less gravity than the present time, there has often 
been felt this imperious necessity to trust the man- 
agement of affairs to men of energy. Even revo- 
lutions have arisen, in England itself, and several 
times, from the discontent created by Ministers 
who were excellent in moments of calm but feeble 
in serious crises." 

The Journal wrote thus : 

"One element dominates the situation. It Is the 
preponderating position of Mr. Lloyd George. 
No Prime Minister could govern to-day without 
asking not so much for his collaboration as for 
his directions. Lloyd George is the soul of Eng- 



352 THE PRIME MINISTER 

land at war, and the principal combative arm of 
Great Britain. Why keep him then in the second 
political place? The brain that conceives ought 
also to be the will that directs." 

It is, indeed, a remarkable proof of the interest 
taken by Frenchmen to-day in the personality of Mr. 
Lloyd George that perhaps the best of all the shorter 
sketches of his career has been written by M. Paul 
Louis Hervier and published by that enterprising mag- 
azine, Je Sais Tout, in its issue of April 15th, 19 17. 

To-day, indeed, it is scarcely too much to say that 
in France Mr. Lloyd George is the best known and 
loved of all European statesmen — ^not even excluding 
the statesmen of France itself. 

Or turn to another splendid European Ally — Italy. 
There, too, Mr. Lloyd George is well appreciated as a 
leader in the Entente Alliance. Here is a passage 
from the Secolo in December, 19 16: 

Once more we see Lloyd George, the watchful, 
the innovator, the inaugurator of new ideas. He 
has known how, in the country classic for its in- 
dividualism, to strengthen and enlarge the sphere 
of State action. His first political experiments 
from 1906 to 19 14 were all directed to destroy 
the laissez-faire system, and to substitute for it 
the direct and co-ordinated action of the State, 
especially when the action of the State attacked 
the privileges of the rich classes. To-day Lloyd 
George seeks to bring into being a veritable "War 
Socialism." 

The Giornale d' Italia took the same line : 



THROUGH FOREIGN EYES 353 

In comparison with the preceding administra- 
tion, the new Government is distinguished for its 
firmness of decision. England takes another step 
along the path of warlike evolution. . . . Lloyd 
George's power is the power of a warrior, who 
Is determined to subordinate every private inter- 
est, that the interest of the whole nation may pre- 
vail. . . . He voices the conscience of the whole 
British Empire, which fully realises that every 
barrier must be overturned, every obstacle over- 
come, that stands in the way of the development 
of those resources for war without which it is 
Impossible to beat the enemy. 

The Idea Nazionale echoed the same view: 

There is a new feeling among the Governments 
of the Entente — a new determination to conquer 
"without the aid of time." The old Governments 
were characterised by their conviction that time 
was a substantial ally. This constituted an ele- 
ment of weakness. The speech of Lloyd George, 
however, is an authentic interpretation of the signs 
of the times. . . . 

In an interview with the Morning Post In Decem- 
ber, 19 1 6, that remarkable Itahan, Signor Bissolato, 
expressed these views : 

"You ask me what I think of Lloyd George? 
That is tantamount to asking me what I think of 
England. It Is rare In history that a nation has 
found itself as perfectly identified with one man 
as England is to-day with Lloyd George. The 



354. THE PRIME MINISTER 

world, enemies and friends included, stands 
amazed by the energy Lloyd George displays in 
dealing with the huge difficulties that the war has 
raised. But few know that in the energy of this 
one man is apparent the energy of the whole Eng- 
lish nation. What is particularly fortunate is his 
decisive arrival to power at this juncture. I say 
this because if a nation at such critical times as 
these does not find the man who Is destined to 
lead it, It runs the danger of remaining like the 
giant who cannot find a weapon to fight with In a 
conflict which Is to decide his fate. . . . Eng- 
land's good fortune in having found Lloyd 
George is the good fortune of the whole Entente." 

Let us cross from Europe to our new and splendid 
Ally, the United States. There the career of Mr. 
Lloyd George has always been followed with the closest 
Interest. There was a touch of enterprise — a salt 
savour — about his Budget that took the fancy of a 
country always In love with daring. The quick and 
observant journalists who watch affairs in England on 
behalf of the American democracy were already warn- 
ing their people that Mr. Lloyd George was putting 
them out of date. In a very remarkable sketch of Mr. 
Lloyd George's land proposals sent to the American 
Press In April of 19 12 by Mr. James Creelman, he 
told them that England was on the verge of a revolu- 
tion that wouU make America look old-fashioned. 

"These are stirring and epoch-making times In 
Old England. 

"The old and powerful order of things is about 
to pass away." 



THROUGH FOREIGN EYES 355 

And in his bright American way he depicted the 
English aristocracy crying out : 

"Oh I for a way to get rid of the grey-eyed, 
smiling little Welsh demon who sits at the Im- 
perial Treasury planning new taxes on wealth and 
land; who puts evil ideas of social justice into the 
head of the calm, keen, adroit Prime Minister and 
all the rest of the Cabinet, and who has bewitched 
the once humble and contented British people until 
they no longer reverence or respect orthodoxy or 
the nobility and upper classes !" 

Mr. Lloyd George has always been fully as interest- 
ing to the leading men of America. When they visit 
England, it is he whom they most desire to see and to 
meet. President Wilson looks at the world with a 
slower, calmer gaze, and arrives at his conclusions very 
much more gradually. 

But President Roosevelt always held Mr. Lloyd 
George in a fierce admiration, not unmingled with envy 
for his success in carrying with him a militant democ- 
racy. Mr, Roosevelt wrote shortly before his death as 
follows to a public man in his country: 

"Give my heartiest regards to Lloyd George. 
Do tell him I admire him immensely. I have al- 
ways fundamentally agreed with his social pro- 
gramme, but I wish it supplemented by Lord 
Roberts's external programme. Nevertheless, my 
agreement with him in programme is small com- 
pared with the fact that I so greatly admire the 
character he is now showing in this great crisis. 
It is often true that the only way to render great 



356 THE PRIME MINISTER 

services is by willingness on the part of the states- 
man to lose his future, or, at any rate, his present 
position in political life, just exactly as the soldier 
may have to pay with his physical life in order to 
render service in battle." 

As to our own far-flung Empire, there never has 
been much doubt about their views In regard to Mr. 
Lloyd George, 

There are enough Welshmen in Canada to see to 
that Dominion, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in a letter of 
introduction written a year before his death, wrote: 

"Mr. M. is one of your most ardent admirers; 
and if you do not know it let me tell you that their 
number In this country Is legion." 

There he certainly spoke the tinith. 

Sir Richard Flavelle, the famous Canadian financier, 
was present in London during the great financial crisis. 
On returning to Canada, In a speech at Ottawa on 
September 26th, 19 16, he spoke as follows: 

"During those days the men who met the Chan- 
cellor (Mr. Lloyd George) in Committee were 
struck with one or two personal characteristics. 
One of the noted ones was the man's self-efface- 
ment. He sought for no glory for himself. He 
sought for no recognition for himself. One of the 
early evidences of the measure which he had taken 
of the situation was found, by the gentlemen who 
waited upon him, that Mr. Austen Chamberlain 
sat by his side. He crossed over to the other side 
of the House, and he said — 'I need your assist- 



THROUGH FOREIGN EYES 357 

Less expected than the praise of Canada Is the ad- 
miration of India. Mr. Lloyd George has never visited 
India, and he would not claim any special knowledge 
of India. But India Is the country of the poor man; 
and the poor man all over the world has heard In his 
speeches a new call of hope. To him Mr. Lloyd 
George seems a light in great darkness, the glimmering 
of a new dawn. Writing before the war, the Indian 
Patriot said: 

"Of all the statesmen at the head of affairs In 
England to-day no one exercises the Imagination 
of India so much as Mr. Lloyd George. He Is 
not known as 'Mr.' here, but has gone over to the 
ranks of greatness, and Is called simply 'Lloyd 
George.' His force and his earnestness always 
appeal to the Imagination. His speech is care- 
fully read and treasured up. The cry of India Is 
— 'When shall we have a Lloyd George over 
here?' and the story of his pensions for the old, 
his insurance for the sick has become a legend 
from the West. 

"When will he come as our Viceroy?" is what 
a poor man asked the writer. And he was dis- 
appointed to be told that he may not come at all. 
'But then Mr. Lloyd George has many followers, 
and any one of them, trained as he Is, may come I' 
And here was consolation!" 

"They all love him, and are ready to lay down life 
for him; and all because he has done so much for the 
poor." That Is the verdict of India, where kindness 
to the poor is a first call on all religions, and not a 
pious aspiration controlled by the Poor Law. 



358 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Then there are the little "Neutrals." They ought, 
by all the rules, to have seen the best of the game. 
There is a remarkable article in the Journal de Geneve 
of May 15th, 19 17, which seems to embody the judg- 
ment of the most cautious and level-headed of all the 
neutral observers of the war: 

"Mr. Lloyd George has been called 'the Prime 
Minister of Europe.' There is truth in that utter- 
ance. Of all the statesmen who exercise to-day an 
influence over the destinies of the world, Mr. 
Lloyd George is the most attractive, the most per- 
sonal, the most wilful, the most audacious. More 
than all the others, he sees the future and prepares 
for it. 

"He has two talents which complete his outfit. 
He knows how to will, and he knows how to 
speak." 

Finally, there is one tribute that comes from abroad 
to Mr. Lloyd George which certainly ought not to be 
omitted from this survey : 

Of all British statesmen, he was, during the war, the 
best abused in the enemy Press. 



APPENDIX A 
Principal Dates in Mr, Lloyd George's Life 



Birth of David Lloyd George . 

Death of his father 

Is taken to Llanystundwy 

Enters the village school 

Passes Law Preliminary 

Enters solicitor's office at Portmadoc 

Family moves to Criccieth 

Visits Houses of Parliament . 

Speech on Egyptian War at Port- 
madoc ..... 

Passes Law Finals 

Starts practice at Criccieth 

Starts practice at Portmadoc . 

Speaks at Michael Davitt's meeting 

Llanfrothen case .... 

Marries Miss Maggie Owen . 

Adopted as Liberal candidate in 
Carnarvon Boroughs 

Elected Alderman for Carnarvon- 
shire County Council 

Returned M.P. at By-election (ma- 
jority, i8) •. . •. 

Fight over Clergy Discipline Bill . 

Second election (majority, 196) 

Revolt over Welsh Disestablishment 
Bill 

Third election (General Election — 
majority, 194) 

Opposes Agricultural Rating Bill . 

Opposes Voluntary Schools Bill . 

Opposes Tithes Bill 

359 



January 17, 1863. 
June 7, 1864. 
August 1864. 
18^. 

1877. 
1878. 

May 1880. 
November 1881. 

November 1882. 

1884. 

1884. 

1885. 



January 24, i 
December 1888 
1889. 



April 10, 1890. 

1892. 

July 8, 1892. 

1895. 

1895. 
1896. 
1897. 
1899. 



360 



THE PRIME MINISTER 



Speaks against South African War 

Opposes South African War . 

Fourth election at Carnarvon Bor- 
oughs (majority, 296) 

Mobbed at Birmingham , 

Fights Education Bill 

Welsh Education Revolt 

Defies Schools Coercion Act 

President of the Board of Trade 

Fifth election at Carnarvon Bor 
oughs (majority, 1224) . 

Settles Railway Strike . 

Becomes Chancellor of the Exchequi 

Passes Old Age Pensions Act 

Visits Germany 

Introduces Budget . 

Thrown out by Lords 

Sixth election at Carnarvon Bor- 
oughs (majority, 1,078) . 

Passes Budget 

Becomes member of Party Confer 
ence .... 

Seventh election at Carnarvon Bor 
oughs (majority, 1,208) . 

Introduces Insurance Bill 

Carries Insurance Bill 

Land Campaign 

Great War opens 

Becomes Premier 

Armistice 

General Election 

Peace Conference opens 

Peace ratified by Parliament 

Peace ratified at Versailles 



October 27, 1899. 
1900, 

October 6, 1900. 
December 18, 1901. 
1902, 

1903. 
1904. 

1905. 

1906, 
1907. 
er April 12, 1908. 
July 1908. 
August 1908. 
April 29, 1909. 
November 1909. 

January 1910. 
April 28, 1910. 

June-November 1910. 

December 1910. 
May 4, 191 1. 
December 191 1. 
1912-1913. 
August 4, 1914. 
December 19 16. 
November 11, 1918. 
December 14, 1918. 
January 18, 1919. 
July 2ist, 1919. 
January 10, 1920. 



APPENDIX 361 

APPENDIX B 

The Crisis of December, 1916 

Correspondence Between Mr. Asquith and Mr. Lloyd 

George 

Memorandum of Mr. Lloyd George to Prime Minister, 
December 1st, 1916. 

War Office, Whitehall, S.W. 

1. That the War Committee consist of three members 
— two of whom must be the First Lord of the Admiralty 
and the Secretary of State for War, who should have in 
their offices deputies capable of attending to and deciding 
all departmental business — and a third Minister without 
portfolio. One of the three to be Chairman. 

2. That the War Committee shall have full powers, sub- 
ject to the supreme control of the Prime Minister, to direct 
all questions connected with the war. 

3. The Prime Minister, in his discretion, to have the 
power to refer any question to the Cabinet. 

4. Unless the Cabinet, in reference by the Prime Min- 
ister, reverses decision of the War Cabinet, that decision 
to be carried out by the Department concerned. 

5. The War Committee to have the power to invite any 
Minister and to summon the expert advisers and officers of 
any Department to its meetings. 

10 Downing Street, Whitehall, S.W. 
Secret January 1st, 1916. 

My dear Lloyd George, 

I have now had time to reflect on our conversation 
this morning, and to study your memorandum. 

Though I do not altogether share your dark estimate and 
forecast of the situation, actual and perspective, I am in 
complete agreement that we have reached a critical situation 
in the war, and that our methods of procedure, with the 



362 THE PRBIE MINISTER 

experience which we have gained during the last few 
months, call for reconsideration and revision. 

The two main defects of the War Committee, which has 
done excellent work, are : 

(i) That its numbers are too large. 
(2) That there is delay, evasion, and often obstruc- 
tion on the part of the Departments in giving effect to 
its decisions. 

I might with good reason add (3) that it is often kept in 
ignorance by the Departments of information, essential and 
even vital, of a technical kind, upon the problems that come 
before it : and (4) that it is overcharged with duties, many 
of which might well be relegated to subordinate bodies. 

The result is that I am clearly of opinion that the War 
Committee should be reconstituted, and its relation to and 
authority over the Departments be more clearly defined and 
more effectively asserted. 

I come now to your specific proposals. 

In my opinion, whatever changes are made in the com- 
position and functions of the War Committee, the Prime 
Minister must be its Chairman. He cannot be relegated to 
the position of an arbiter in the background or a referee to 
the Cabinet. 

In regard to its composition, I agree that the War Secre- 
tary and the First Lord of the Admiralty are necessary 
members. I am inclined to add to the same category the 
Minister of Munitions. There should be another member, 
either without portfolio or charged only with comparatively 
light departmental duties. One of* the members should be 
appointed Vice-Chairman. 

I purposely do not in this letter discuss the delicate and 
difficult question of personnel. 

The Committee should, as far as possible, sit de die diem, 
and have full power to see that its decisions (subject to 
appeal to the Cabinet) are carried out promptly and effec- 
tively by the Departments. 



APPENDIX 363 

The reconstitution of the War Committee should be ac- 
companied by the setting up of a Committee of National 
Organisation, to deal with the purely domestic side of war 
problems. It should have executive powers within its own. 
domain. 

The Cabinet would in all cases have ultimate authority. 
Yours very sincerely, 

(Sd.) H. H. AsQUiTH. 

lo Downing Street, S.W. 
Secret December 4.th, 1916. 

My dear Lloyd George, 

Such productions as the first leading article in to- 
day's Times, showing the infinite possibilities for misun- 
derstanding and misrepresentation of such an arrangement 
as we considered yesterday, make me at least doubtful as 
to its feasibility. Unless the impression is at once corrected 
that I am being relegated to the position of an irresponsible 
spectator of the war, I cannot possibly go on. 

The suggested arrangement was to the following efifect. 
The Prime Minister to have supreme and effective control of 
War Policy. 

The agenda of the War Committee will be submitted to 
him; its Chairman will report to him daily; he can direct 
it to consider particular topics or proposals; and all its 
conclusions will be subject to his approval or veto. He can, 
of course, at his own discretion attend meetings of the 
Committee. 

Yours sincerely, 

(Sd.) H. H. AsQUiTH. 

War Office, Whitehall, S.W. 
December 4th, 1916. 
My Dear Prime Minister, 

I have not seen the Times' article. But I hope you 

will not attach undue importance to these effusions. I have 

had these misrepresentations to put up with for months. 

Northcliffe frankly wants a smash. Derby and I do not. 



364 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Northcliffe would like to make this and any other rear- 
rangement under your Premiership impossible. Derby and 
I attach great importance to your retaining your present 
position — effectively. I cannot restrain, or, I fear, influence 
Northcliffe. I fully accept in letter and in spirit your sum- 
mary of the suggested arrangement — subject, of course, to 
personnel. Ever sincerely, 

(Sd.) D. Lloyd George. 

10 Downing Street, Whitehall, S.W. 
Secret Decemoer 4th, 1916 

My Dear Lloyd George, 

Thank you for your letter of this morning. 

The King gave me to-day authority to ask and accept the 
resignation of all my colleagues, and to form a new Govern- 
ment on such lines as I should submit to him. I start there- 
fore with a clean slate. 

The first question which I have to consider is the constitu- 
tion of the new War Committee. 

After full consideration of the matter in all its aspects, I 
have come decidedly to the conclusion that it is not possible 
that such a Committee could be made workable and effective 
without the Prime Minister as its Chairman. I quite agree 
that it will be necessary for him, in view of the other calls 
upon his time and energy, to delegate from time to time the 
Chairmanship to another Minister as representative and 
locum tenens; but (if he is to retain the authority, which 
corresponds to his responsibility as Prime Minister) he must 
continue to be, as he always has been, its permanent Presi- 
dent. I am satisfied, on reflection, that any other arrange- 
ment (such as, for instance, the one which I indicated to you 
in my letter of to-day) would be found in experience imprac- 
ticable and incompatible with the retention of the Prime 
Minister's final and supreme control. 

The other question, which you have raised, relates to the 
personnel of the Committee. Here again, after deliberate 



APPENDIX 365 

consideration, I find myself unable to agree with some of 
your suggestions. I think we both agree that the First Lord 
of the Admiralty must, of necessity, be a member of the 
Committee. 

I cannot (as I told you yesterday) be a party to any sug- 
gestion that Mr. Balfour should be displaced. The technical 
side of the Board of Admiralty has been reconstituted, with 
Sir John Jellicoe as First Sea Lord. I believe Mr. Balfour 
to be, under existing conditions, the necessary head of the 
Board. 

I must add that Sir Edward Carson (for whom personally 
and in every other way I have the greatest regard) is not, 
from the only point of view which is significant to me 
(namely, the most effective prosecution of the war) the man 
best qualified among my colleagues present or past to be a 
member of the War Committee. 

I have only to say, in conclusion, that I am strongly of 
opinion that the War Committee (without any disparage- 
ment of the existing Committee, which in my judgment is 
a most efficient body, and has done and is doing invaluable 
work) ought to be reduced in number: so that it can sit 
more frequently, and overtake more easily the daily problems 
with which it has to deal. But in any reconstruction of the 
Committee, such as I have, and have for some time past had 
in view, the governing consideration to my mind is the 
special capacity of the men who are to sit on it for the work 
which it has to do. 

That is a question which I must reserve for myself to 
decide. Yours very sincerely, 

(Sd.) H. H. AsQuiTH. 

My Dear Prime Minister, December sth, 1916. 

I received your letter with some surprise. 
On Friday I made proposals which involved not merely 
your retention of the Premiership, but the supreme control 
of the war, whilst the executive functions, subject to that 



366 THE PRIME MINISTER 

supreme control, were left to others. I thought you then 
received these suggestions favourably. In fact, you yourself 
proposed that I should be the Chairman of this Executive 
Committee, although, as you know, I never put forward that 
demand. On Saturday you wrote me a letter in which you 
completely went back on that proposition. You sent for me 
on Sunday, and put before me other proposals; these pro- 
posals you embodied in a letter written on Monday : 

"The Prime Minister to have supreme and effective 
control of war policy. 

"The agenda of the War Committee will be submitted 
to him; its Chairman will report to him daily; he can 
direct it to consider particular topics or proposals ; and 
all its conclusions will be subject to his approval or 
veto. He can, of course, at his own discretion, attend 
meetings of the Committee." 

These proposals safeguarded your position and power as 
Prime Minister in every particular. I immediately wrote 
you accepting them "in letter and in spirit." It is true that 
on Sunday I expressed views as to the constitution of the 
Committee, but these were for discussion. To-day you have 
gone back on your own proposals. 

I have striven my utmost to cure the obvious defects of 
the War Committee without overthrowing the Government. 
As you are aware, on several occasions during the last two 
years I have deemed it my duty to express profound dis- 
satisfaction with the Government's method of conducting the 
war. Many a time, with the road to victory open in front 
of us, we have delayed and hesitated whilst the enemy were 
erecting barriers that finally checked the approach. There 
has been delay, hesitation, lack of forethought and vision. I 
have endeavoured repeatedly to warn the Government of 
the dangers, both verbally and in written memoranda and 
letters, which I crave your leave now to publish if my 
action is challenged ; but I have either failed to secure deci- 
sions or I have secured them when it is too late to avert the 



APPENDIX S67 

evils. The latest illustration is our lamentable failure to give 
timely support to Roumania. 

I have more than once asked to be released from my 
responsibility for a policy with which I was in thorough 
disagreement, but at your urgent personal request, I re- 
mained in the Government. I realise that when the country 
is in the peril of a great war, Ministers have not the same 
freedom to resign on disagreement. At the same time I 
have always felt — and felt deeply — that I was in a false 
position, inasmuch as I could never defend in a whole- 
hearted manner the action of a Government of which I was 
a member. We have thrown away opportunity after oppor- 
tunity, and I am convinced, after deep and anxious reflec- 
tion, that it is my duty to leave the Government in order to 
inform the people of the real condition of affairs, and to 
give them an opportunity, before it is too late, to save their 
native land from a disaster which is inevitable if the present 
methods are longer persisted in. As all delay is fatal in 
war, I place my office without further parley at your dis- 
posal. 

It is with great personal regret that I have come to this 
conclusion. In spite of mean and unworthy insinuations 
to the contrary — insinuations which I fear are always in- 
evitable in the case of men who hold prominent but not 
primary positions in any administration — I have felt a strong 
personal attachment to you as my Chief. As you yourself 
said on Sunday, we have acted together for ten years and 
never a quarrel, although we have had many a grave dif- 
ference on questions of policy. You have treated me with 
great courtesy and kindness : for all that I thank you. Noth- 
ing would have induced me to part now except an over- 
whelming sense that the course of action which has been 
pursued has put the country — and not merely the country, 
but throughout the world, the principles for which you and 
I have always stood throughout our political lives — in the 
greatest peril that has ever overtaken them. 



S68 THE PRIME MINISTER 

As I am fully conscious of the importance of preserving 
national unity, I propose to give your Government complete 
support in the vigorous prosecution of the war; but unity 
without action is nothing but futile carnage, and I cannot be 
responsible for that. Vigour and vision are the supreme 
need of this hour. Yours sincerely, 

(Sd.) D. Lloyd George. 

10 Downing Street, S.W. 
Private December 5th, 1916. 

My Dear Lloyd George, 

I need not tell you that I have read your letter of 
to-day with much regret. 

I do not comment upon it for the moment, except to say 
that I cannot wholly accept your account of what passed 
between us in regard to my connection with the War Com- 
mittee. 

In particular, you have omitted to quote the first and most 
material part of my letter of yesterday. 
Yours very sincerely, 

(Sd.) H. H. AsQuiTH. 

In the meantime, I feel sure that you will see the obvious 
necessity, in the pubHc interest, of not publishing, at this 
moment, any part of our correspondence. 

War Office, S.W. 
My Dear Prime Minister, December 5th, 1916. 

I cannot announce my resignation without assigning 
the reason. Your request that I should not publish the cor- 
respondence that led up to and necessitated it places me 
therefore in an embarrassing and unfair position. I must 
give reasons for the grave step I have taken. If you forbid 
publication of the correspondence, do you object to my stat- 
ing in another form my version of the causes that led to my 
resigning? Yours sincerely, 

(Sd.) D, Lloyd George. 



APPENDIX 369 

As to the first part of your letter, the publication of the 
letter would cover the whole ground. 

lo Downing Street, S.W. 
My Dear Lloyd George, December 5th, 1916. 

It may make a difference to you (in reply to your 
last letter) if I tell you at once that I have tendered my 
resignation to the King. In any case, I should deprecate in 
the public interest the publication in its present form at this 
moment of your letter to me of this morning. 

Of course, I have neither the power nor the wish to pre- 
vent your stating in some other form the causes which led 
you to take the step which you have taken. 
Yours very sincerely, 

(Sd.) H. H. AsQUiTH. 



APPENDIX C 

THE PEACE CONFERENCE 

The Critical Russian Debate of January, 1919 

Bullitt Exhibit No. 14 

McD. I.e. 114. Secretaries' notes of a conversation 
held in M. Pichon's room, at the Quai d'Orsay, on Tuesday, 
January 21st, 1919, at 15 hours (3 p.m.). 

Present: 

United States of America. — President Wilson, Mr. R. 
Lansing, Mr. A. H. Frazier, Colonel U. S. Grant, Mr. L. 
Harrison. 

British Empire. — The Right Hon. D. Lloyd George, the 
Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, Lieut.-Col. Sir M. P. A. Hankey, 
K.C.B., Major A. M. Caccia, M.V.O., Mr. E. Phipps. 

France. — M. Clemenceau, M. Pichon^ M. Dutasta, H. 
Berthelot, Captain A. Potier. 



370 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Italy. — Signer Orlando, H. E, Baron Sonnino, Count Al- 
drovandi, Major A. Jones. 

Japan. — Baron Makino, H. E. M. Matsui, M. Saburi. 
Interpreter. — Prof. P. J. Mantoux. 

Situation in Rurssia 

M. Clemenceau said they had met together to decide what 
could be done in Russia under present circumstances. 

President Wilson said that, in order to have something 
definite to discuss, he wished to take advantage of a sugges- 
tion made by Mr. Lloyd George, and to propose a modifica- 
tion of the British proposal. He wished to suggest that the 
various organised groups in Russia should be asked to send 
representatives, not to Paris, but to some other place, such 
as Salonika, convenient of approach, there to meet such 
representatives as might be appointed by the Allies, in order 
to see if they could draw up a programme upon which agree- 
ment could be reached. 

Mr. Lloyd George pointed out that the advantage of this 
would be that they could be brought there from Russia 
through the Black Sea without passing through other coun- 
tries. 

M. Sonnino said that some of the representatives of the 
various Governments were already here in Paris, for exam- 
ple, M. Sazonoff. Why should not these be heard? 

President Wilson expressed the view that the various 
parties should not be heard separately. It would be very 
desirable to get all these representatives in one place, and 
still better, all in one room, in order to obtain a close com- 
parison of views. 

Mr. Balfour said that a further objection to M. Son- 
nino's plan was that if M, Sazonoff was heard in Paris it 
would be difficult to hear the others in Paris also, and M. 
Clemenceau objected strongly to having some of these 
representatives in Paris. 

M. Sonnino explained that all the Russian parties had 



APPENDIX S71 

some representatives here, except the Soviets, whom they 
did not wish to hear. 

Mr. Lloyd George remarked that the Bolshevists were the 
very people some of them wished to hear. 

M. Sonnino continuing, said that they had heard M. 
Litvinoff's statements that morning. 

(That was the statement that Litvinoff had made to Buck- 
ler, which the President had read to the council of ten that 
morning.) 

The Allies were now fighting against the Bolshevists, 
who were their enemies, and therefore they were not obliged 
to hear them with the others. 

Mr. Balfour remarked that the essence of President Wil- 
son's proposal was that the parties must all be heard at 
one and the same time. 

Mr. Lloyd George expressed the view that the acceptance 
of M. Sonnino's proposals would amount to their hearing a 
string of people, all of whom held the same opinion, and 
all of whom would strike the same note. But they would 
not hear the people who at the present moment were actually 
controlling European Russia. In deference to M. Clemen- 
ceau's views they had put forward this new proposal. He 
thought it would be quite safe to bring the Bolshevist rep- 
resentatives to Salonika, or perhaps to Lemnos. It was abso- 
lutely necessary to endeavour to make peace. The report 
read by President Wilson that morning went to show that 
the Bolshevists were not convinced of the error of their 
ways, but they apparently realised the folly of their present 
methods. Therefore they were endeavouring to come to 
terms. 

President Wilson asked to be permitted to urge one aspect 
of the case. As M. Sonnino had implied, they were all 
repelled by Bolshevism, and for that reason they had placed 
armed men in opposition to them. One of the things that 
was clear in the Russian situation was that, by opposing 
Bolshevism with arms, they were in reality serving the 



372 THE PRIME MINISTER 

cause of Bolshevism. The AlHes were making it possible 
for the Bolsheviks to argue that Imperialistic and Capitalis- 
tic Governments were endeavouring to exploit the country 
and to give the land back to the landlords, and so bring 
about a reaction. If it could be shown that this was not 
true, and that the Allies were prepared to deal with the 
rulers of Russia, much of the moral force of this argu- 
ment would disappear. The allegations that the Allies were 
against the people, and wanted to control their affairs, pro- 
vided the argument which enabled them to raise armies. If, 
on the other hand, the Allies could swallow their pride and 
the natural repulsion which they felt for the Bolshevists, and 
see the representatives of all organised groups in one place, 
he thought it would bring about a marked reaction against 
Bolshevism. 

M, Clemenceau said that in principle he did not favour 
conversation with the Bolshevists, not because they were 
criminals, but because we would be raising them to our level 
by saying that they were worthy of entering into conversa- 
tion with us. The Bolshevist danger was very great at the 
present moment. It had invaded the Baltic provinces and 
Poland, and that very morning they received bad news re- 
garding its spread to Buda-Pesth and Vienna. Italy, also, 
was in danger. The danger was probably greater there than 
in France. If Bolshevism, after spreading to Germany, were 
to traverse Austria and Hungary, and so reach Italy, Europe 
would be faced with a very great danger. Therefore, some- 
thing must be done against Bolshevism. When listening to 
the document presented by President Wilson that morning, 
he had been struck by the cleverness with which the Bolshe- 
vists were attempting to lay a trap for the Allies. When the 
Bolshevists first came into power, a breach was made with 
the Capitalist Government on questions of principle, but 
now they offered funds and concessions as a basis for treat- 
ing with them. He need not say how valueless their prom- 
ises were, but, if they were listened to, the Bolshevists would 



APPENDIX 373 

go back to their people and say, "We offered them great 
principles of justice, and the Allies would have nothing to 
do with us. Now we offer money, and they are ready to 
make peace." 

He admitted his remarks did not offer a solution. The 
great misfortune was that the Allies were in need of a 
speedy solution. After four years of war, and the losses 
and sufferings they had incurred, their populations could 
stand no more. Russia also was in need of immediate peace. 
But its necessary evolution must take time. The signing of 
the world's peace could not await Russia's final avatar. Had 
time been available, he would suggest waiting, for eventually 
sound men representing common sense would come to the 
top. But when would that be? He could make no fore- 
cast. Therefore they must press for an early solution. 

To sum up, had he been acting by himself, he would tem- 
porise and erect barriers to prevent Bolshevism from spread- 
ing. But he was not alone, and in the presence of 'is col- 
leagues he felt compelled to make some concession, as it was 
essential that there should not be even the appearance of 
disagreement amongst them. The concession came easier 
after hearing President Wilson's suggestions. He thought 
they should make a very clear and convincing appeal to all 
reasonable peoples, emphatically stating that they did not 
wish in any way to interfere in the internal affairs of Rus- 
sia, and especially that they had no intention of restoring 
Czardom. The object of the Allies being to hasten the crea- 
tion of a strong Government, they proposed to call together 
representatives of all parties to a conference. He would 
beg President Wilson to draft a paper, fully explaining the 
position of the Allies to the whole world, including the Rus- 
sians and the Germans. 

Mr, Lloyd George agreed, and gave notice that he wished 
to withdraw his own motion in favour of President Wil- 
son's. 

Mr. Balfour said that he understood that all these people 



374. THE PRIME MINISTER 

were to be asked on an equality. On these terms he thought 
the Bolshevists would refuse, and by their refusal they 
would put themselves in a very bad position. 

M. Sonnino said that he did not agree that the Bolshevists 
would not come. He thought they would be the first to 
come, because they would be eager to put themselves on an 
equality with the others. He would remind his colleagues 
that, before the Peace of Brest-Litovsk was signed, the Bol- 
shevists promised all sorts of things, such as to refrain from 
propaganda, but since that peace had been concluded they 
had broken all their promises, their one idea being to spread 
revolution in all other countries. His idea was to collect 
together all the anti-Bolshevist parties, and help them to 
make a strong Government, provided they pledged them- 
selves not to serve the forces of reaction, and especially not 
to touch the land question, thereby depriving the Bolshevists 
of their strongest argument. Should they take these pledges, 
he would be prepared to help them. 

Mr. Lloyd George enquired how this help would be given. 

M. Sonnino replied that help would be given with soldiers 
to a reasonable degree or by supplying arms, food and 
money. For instance, Poland asked for weapons, and 
munitions ; the Ukraine asked for weapons. All the Allies 
wanted was to establish a strong Government. The reason 
that no strong Government at present existed was that no 
party could risk taking the offensive against Bolshevism 
without the assistance of the Allies. He would enquire how 
the parties of order could possibly succeed without the as- 
sistance of the Allies. President Wilson had said that they 
should put aside all pride in the matter. He would point 
out that for Italy, and probably for France also, as M. Cle- 
menceau had stated, it was in reality a question of self- 
defence. He thought that even a partial recognition of the 
Bolshevists would strengthen their position, and, speaking 
for himself, he thought that Bolshevism was already a seri- 
ous danger in his country. 



APPENDIX S75 

Mr. Lloyd George said he wished to put one or two 
practical questions to M. Sonnino. The British Empire now 
had some 15,000 to 20,000 men in Russia. M. de Scavenius 
had estimated that some 150,000 additional men would be 
required, in order to keep the anti-Bolshevist Governments 
from dissolution. And General Franchet d'Esperey also in- 
sisted on the necessity of Allied assistance. Now Canada 
had decided to withdraw her troops, because the Canadian 
soldiers would not agree to stay and fight against the Rus- 
sians. Similar trouble had also occurred amongst the other 
Allied troops. And he felt certain that, if the British tried 
to send any more troops there, there would be mutiny. 

M. Sonnino suggested that volunteers might be called 
for. 

Mr. Lloyd George, continuing, said that it would be im- 
possible to raise 150,000 in that way. He asked, however, 
what contributions America, Italy, and France would make 
towards the raising of this army. 

President Wilson and M. Clemenceau each said none. 

M. Orlando agreed that Italy could make no further con- 
tributions. 

Mr. Lloyd George said that the Bolshevists had an army 
of 300,000 men, who would, before long, be good soldiers, 
and to fight them at least 400,000 Russian soldiers would be 
required. Who would feed, equip, and pay them? Would 
Italy, or America, or France do so? If they were unable 
to do that, what would be the good of fighting Bolshevism ? 
It could not be crushed by speeches. He sincerely trusted 
that they would accept President Wilson's proposal as it now 
stood. 

M. Orlando agreed that the question was a very difificult 
one for the reasons that had been fully given. He agreed 
that Bolshevism constituted a grave danger to all Europe. 
To prevent a contagious epidemic from spreading, the sani- 
tarians set up a cordon sanitaire. If similar measures could 
be taken against Bolshevism, in order to prevent its spread- 



376 THE PRIME MINISTER 

Ing, it might be overcome, since to isolate it meant vanquish- 
ing it. Italy was now passing through a period of depres- 
sion, due to war weariness. But Bolshevists could never 
triumph there, unless they found a favourable medium, such 
as might be produced either by a profound patriotic disap- 
pointment in their expectations as to the rewards of the war, 
or by an economic crisis. Either might lead to revolution, 
which was equivalent to Bolshevism. Therefore, he would 
insist that all possible measures should be taken to set up 
this cordon. Next, he suggested the consideration of repres- 
sive measures. He thought two methods were possible : 
either the use of physical force or the use of moral force. 
He thought Mr. Lloyd George's objection to the use of 
physical force unanswerable. The occupation of Russia 
meant the employment of troops for an indefinite period of 
time. This meant an apparent prolongation of the war. 
There remained the use of moral force. He agreed with 
M. Clemenceau that no country could continue in anarchy, 
and that an end must eventually come ; but they could not 
wait — they could not proceed to make peace and ignore 
Russia. Therefore, Mr. Lloyd George's proposal, with the 
modifications introduced after careful consideration by 
President Wilson and M. Clemenceau, gave a possible solu- 
tion. It did not involve entering into negotiations with the 
Bolshevists ; the proposal was merely an attempt to bring 
together all the parties in Russia with a view to finding a 
way out of the present difficulty. He was prepared, there- 
fore, to support it. 

President Wilson asked for the views of his Japanese 
colleagues. 

Baron Makino said that after carefully considering the 
various points of view put forward, he had no objections to 
make regarding the conclusions reached. He thought that 
was the best solution under the circumstances. He wished, 
however, to enquire what attitude would be taken by the 
representatives of the Allied Powers if the Bolshevists 



APPENDIX 877 

accepted the invitation to the meeting, and there insisted 
upon their principles. He thought they should under no 
circumstances countenance Bolshevist ideas. The condi- 
.tions in Siberia east of the Baikal had greatly improved. 
The objects which had necessitated the despatch of troops 
to that region had been attained. Bolshevism was no longer 
aggressive, though it might still persist in a latent form. In 
conclusion, he wished to support the proposal before the 
meeting. 

President Wilson expressed the view that the emissaries 
of the Allied Powers should not be authorised to adopt any 
definite attitude towards Bolshevism. They should merely 
report back to their Governments the conditions found. 

Mr. Lloyd George asked that that question be further 
considered. He thought the emissaries of the Allied Powers 
should be able to establish an agreement if they were able to 
find a solution. For instance, if they succeeded in reaching 
an agreement on the subject of the organisation of a Con- 
stituent Assembly, they should be authorised to accept such 
a compromise without the delay of a reference to the 
Governments. 

President Wilson suggested ttiat the emissaries might be 
furnished with a body of instructions. 

Mr. Balfour expressed the view that abstention from hos- 
tile action against their neighbours should be made a con- 
dition of their sending representatives to this meeting. 

President Wilson agreed. 

M. Clemenceau suggested that the manifesto to the Rus- 
sian parties should be based solely on humanitarian grounds. 
They should say to the Russians, "You are threatened by 
famine ; we are prompted by humanitarian feelings, we are 
making peace ; we do not want people to die. We are pre- 
pared to see what can be done to remove the menace of 
starvation." He thought the Russians would at once prick 
up their ears, and be prepared to hear what the Allies had to 
say. They would add that food cannot be sent unless peace 



S78 THE PRIME MINISTER 

and order were re-established. It should, in fact, be made 
quite clear that the representatives of all parties would 
merely be brought together for purely humane reasons. 

Mr. Lloyd George said that in this connection he wished 
to invite attention to a doubt expressed by certain of the 
delegates of the British Dominions, namely, whether there 
would be enough food and credit to go round, should an 
attempt be made to feed all Allied countries, and enemy 
countries, and Russia also. The export of so much food 
would inevitably have the effect of raising food prices in 
Allied countries, and so create discontent and Bolshevism. 
As regards grain, Russia had always been an exporting 
country, and there was evidence to show that plenty of food 
at present existed in the Ukraine. 

President Wilson said that his information was that 
enough food existed in Russia, but either on account of its 
being hoarded or on account of difficulties of transportation, 
it could not be made available. 

It was agreed that President Wilson should draft a proc- 
lamation, for consideration at the next meeting, inviting all 
organised parties in Russia to attend a meeting to be held 
at some selected place such as Salonika or Lemnos, in 
order to discuss with the representatives of the Allied and 
Associated Great Powers the means of restoring order and 
peace in Russia. Participation in the meeting should be con- 
ditional on a cessation of hostilities. 



APPENDIX D 

THE "FOURTEEN POINTS" 

In view of the fact that the Armistice negotiations started 
from the acceptance of President Wilson's Fourteen Points 
by the Germans, and that the Peace Conference pivoted 
round those points as modified by the Allies at the Ver- 



APPENDIX 379 

sailles Council of October, 1918, it is of interest to attach 
a full and complete version of the original Fourteen Points, 
as set forth by President Wilson in his great speech of 
January 8th, 1918: 

I. Open covenants of peace openly arrived at, after 
which there shall be no private international understandings 
of any kind, but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly 
and in the public view. 

II. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas 
outside the territorial waters, alike in peace and in war, 
except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by 
international action for the enforcement of international 
covenants. 

III. The removal, so far as possible, of all economic 
barriers, and the establishment of an equality of trade 
conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace 
and associating themselves for its maintenance. 

IV. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national 
armaments will be reduced to the lowest point con- 
sistent with domestic safety. 

V. A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial ad- 
justment OF ALL colonial CLAIMS, based upon a strict 
observance of the principle that in determining all such 
questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations 
concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims 
of the Government whose title is to be determined. 

VI. The evacuation of all Russian territory, and 

SUCH A settlement OF ALL QUESTIONS AFFECTING RUSSIA 
as will secure the BEST AND FREEST CO-OPERATION OF THE 

OTHER NATIONS of the world in obtaining for her an unham- 
pered and unembarrassed opportunity for the independent 
determination of her own political development and national 
policy, and assure her of a sincere welcome into the society 
of free nations under institutions of her own choosing; 
and more than a welcome assistance also of every kind that 
she may need and may herself desire. The treatment ac- 



380 THE PRIME MINISTER 

corded to Russia by her sister nations in the months to 
come will be the acid test of their good-will, of their com- 
prehension of her needs as distinguished from their own 
interests, and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy. 

VII. Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be 
EVACUATED AND RESTORED without any attempt to limit the 
sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other 
free nations. No other single act will serve as this will 
serve to restore confidence among the nations in the laws 
which they have themselves set and determined for the 
government of their relations with one another. Without 
this healing act, the whole structure and validity of inter- 
national law is for ever impaired. 

VIII. All French territory should be freed, and the 
invaded portions restored, and the wrong done to France by 
Prussia in 1871 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, which 
has unsettled the peace of the world for fifty years, should 
BE righted in order that peace may once more be made 
secure in the interests of all. 

IX. A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should 
be effected along clearly recognisable lines of nationality. 

X. The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place 
among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, 
should be accorded the first opportunity of autonomous 
development. 

XI. Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be 
evacuated, occupied territories restored, Serbia accorded 
free and secure access to the sea, and the relations of the 
several Balkan States to one another determined by friendly 
counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and 
nationality, and international guarantees of the political and 
economic independence and territorial integrity of the sev- 
eral Balkan States should be entered into. 

XII. The Turkish portions of the present Ottoman 
Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the 
other nationalities which are under Turkish rule should 



APPENDIX 381 

be ASSURED AN UNDOUBTED SECURITY OF LIFE, and an abso- 
lutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous develop- 
ment, and the Dardanelles should be permanently 
opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all 
nations under international guarantees. 

XIII. An Independent Polish State should be 
erected, which should include the territories inhabited by 
indisputably Polish populations, which should be as- 
sured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political 
and economic independence and territorial integrity should 
be guaranteed by international covenant. 

XIV. A general association of nations must be 
formed under specific covenant for the purpose of affording 
mutual guarantees of politcal independence and territorial 
integrity to great and small States alike. 

Note. — Point II was practically cut out of the terms by 
the Versailles Council. Note the comprehensiveness of 
Point XIII, which explains the largeness of the Polish 
claims. Point XIV is the germ of the League of Nations 
idea, and is carried out in the famous clause lo of the 
Covenant since rejected by the Senate of the United States. 

Note that there is no mention of indemnities; but the 
Council of Versailles opened the door by insisting on com- 
pensation to civilian populations. The £5,000,000,000 
claimed in the Treaty represents an instalment of that 
claim which is estimated as likely to amount to £8,000,- 
000,000. 



INDEX 



Acland, Sir Arthur, 8i, i68. 

Addison, Dr., speech on Munitions, 
218; Introduces Housing Bill, 314 

Agadir Speech at Mansion House, 
159 

Agricultural Rates Bill (1896), 108 

Aisne, the, 280 

Albert, 274 

American Army reinforcements, 
1918, 276 

Amiens, 151; German attempt to 
capture, ztj, 281 

Arabi Pasha, 48 

Armentieres, 278 

Armistice, conditions of, 283; de- 
clared, 284 

Arnold, Matthew, 50, 147 

Asquith, Mr., and Welsh Disestab- 
lishment, 105; successor to Camp- 
bell-Bannerman, 112; and South 
African War, 115; in opposition 
(1902), 129, 134; and Tariff Re- 
form, 136; Premier, 149; evi- 
dence on Bulgaria, 191; munition 
speech, Newcastle, 213; recon- 
struction of Government (1915), 
214; interview of December 1916, 
236; negotiations with Mr. Lloyd 
George, 237; downfall of Govern- 
ment, 242; refuses Woolsack, 242; 
and Maurice incident, 267 

Athens, 184 

Aubers Ridge, attack on, 214 

Austria, strength in 1915, 198; Italy 
declares war on, 200; surrenders, 
283 



Bailleul 278 

Balfour, Mr., weakening of his Gov- 
ernment, 130, 133; Budget (1910), 
164; and conference of 1910, 165; 
attends Peace Conference, 287, 299 

Balkans, the, proposal to combine, 
179, 181; German intrigue in, 184; 
suggestion to send Mr. Lloyd 
George, 196; attempt to bring to- 
gether, 192 

Bangor, part of constituency, 78; 
speech during South African War, 
117, 123 

Bar le Due, 151 

Barnes, Mr. G., attends Peace Con- 
ference, 287; remains in Govern- 
ment, 308 

Berlin, 154; visit to Central Insur- 
ance OflSce, 158 



Bethmann-Hollweg, Herr, entertained 

by, IS4, 15s 
Birmingham, speech on South Afri- 
can War, 117, 322 

Bissolati, Signer, Morning Post in- 
terview, 353 

Blunt, Mr. Wilfrid, 48 

Board of Education, 134 

Board of Trade, Mr. Lloyd George 
appointed President, 138; work at, 
139 

Bolshevists, coup d'etat (1917), 272; 
peace with Germany, 272; proposed 
Conference, 295 

Bonar Law, Mr., unable to form Gov- 
ernment, 242; attends Peace Con- 
ference, 287; acts as leader of Gov- 
ernment, 313 

Booth, Mr. Charles, 167 

Borden, Sir R., and Peace Confer- 
ence, 287 

Botha, General, 118, 119, 180; con- 
quers South-West Africa, 200; and 
Peace Conference, 287 

Brace, Mr. W., leaves Coalition, 316 

Brecon, 133 

Breese, Jones and Casson, Messrs., 
solicitors, 41, 43, 54, 95 

Brest Litovsk, 200; peace negotia- 
tions, 272 

Briand, M., 347 

British Columbia, visit to, 114 

Brockdorif-Rantzau, Herr, Treaty pre- 
sented, 302 

"Brutus," pen-name (1880), 46 

Budget (1890), compensation for 
licences, 88; Conference of Party 
Leaders, 165; (1909), 162; thrown 
out by Lords, 164, 337 

Budget League, 163 

Bukovina, invasion by Russians, 176; 
Russians driven from, 197 

Bulgaria, divided in counsel, 179; 
Greek conditions of joining war, 
186; refuges promise of neutrality, 
189; pledged to Central Powers, 
190; offers to lend troops, 191; 
president Wilson leans towards, 
300 

Bullitt, Mr. W. C, evidence before 
American Senate, 296; Mission to 
Russia, 296 

Burial Act (1880), case at Llan- 
frothen, 66 

Burke, Edmund, 124; Mr. Lloyd 
George's opinion of, 342 

Butler, Sir Wm., 115 



383 



384 



INDEX 



iBuxton, the Brathers, journey to 
Sofia, 184; proposals from Sofia, 
187 

Byron, Mr, Llc<yd George's admira- 
tion of, 339 



Cadbury, Mr. George, 121 

Cadorna, General, Conference July 
(1917), 262 

Caine, Mr. W. S., S3 

Camber Williams, Canon, 25 

Campbell-Bannerman, Sir H., Pre- 
mier, 112; self-government for 
South Africa, 118; in opposition, 
129; Premier (1905), 138; resigna- 
tion, 149 

Cannes, 328 

Carnarvon Boroughs, first aspira- 
tions_ to Parliament, 75 ; adopted 
candidate, 78; first election, 84 

Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald, 50, 
72, 80, 84 

Carpathians, German advance in, 197 

Castberg, Mr., Norwegian Prime 
Minister, 345 

Castlereagh, Lord, 300 

Casson, Mr., solicitor, 42, 95 

Catechism, revolt against, 271 ' 

Cecil, Lord Robert, League of Na- 
tions Committee, 298 

Central Powers, division amongst, 223 

Chalons-sur-Marne, 151 

Chamberlain, Mr. Joseph, Radical 
programme of, 53; defence of, 56; 
liquor compensation, 90; Kynoch 
debate, 125; Tariff Reform, 136; 
admiration of, 232; party machine 
and, 336 

Champagne, attack in, 252 

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. 
Lloyd George appointed, 149 

Churchill, Lord Randolph, 53, 90 

Churchill, Mr. Winston, 163; Min- 
ister of Munitions, 226 

City Temple, speech at, 202 

Cividale, 253 

Clemenceau, M., 270, 273; discussion 
o{ Armistice terms, 282; and Peace 
Conference, 288; leanings to Turk- 
ey, 300; after-war problems, 304; 
in I'Homme Enchainc, 350 

Clergy Discipline Bill, opposition to, 
102 

Clynes, Mr. J. R., leaves Coalition, 
308 

Coalition Government formed, 308 

Coleridge, Chief Justice, Llanfrothen 
case, 68 

Compiegne, 151 

Conferences, Allied (1915), 186; 
Rome (1917), 248; Allied Generals 
(1916), 251; Rapallo (1917), 254 

Congress of Vienna, 300 

Conscription, conversion to, 200 

Constantine, King, frustration of 
Entente, 184; unfriendly to British, 
190; attempt to build up absolute 
monarchy, 193; exiled, 194 



Cook, Sir Edward, 121 

County Councils, creation of, 80 

Courland, invaded by Russians, 196 

Creelman, Mr. J., 354 

Criccieth, 11, 41, 73, 95, 98, 123 

Cromer, Lord, 48 

Daily News, 85; transfer of, 121; at- 
tacks on Government, 309 

Daniel, D. R., 76 

Danube, proposed diversion along 
line of, 179 

Dardanelles Report of Commission, 
178; campaign opens, 190; in prog- 
ress, 195 ; composition of com- 
mittee, 196; failure of naval at- 
tack, 202; meetings of committee, 
203 

Davitt, Michael, 52-3 

Derby Scheme, 202 

Denikin, General, 297 

De Wet. General, 116, 119 

Dillon, John, 110 

Disciples of Christ, religious sect, 
3, 412 

Disestablishment, Welsh, resolution 
at meeting of National Council 
(1889), speech at Met. Tabernacle, 
93; production of Bill (1893), 82; 
speech at Cardiff (1907), 146, 104; 
Defaulting Authorities Act (1904), 
133. 

Downing Street, speech on Armis- 
tice Day, 285 

Du Cane, Lieut.-Gen. Sir J. P., 
Munitions Conference (1915), 219 

Dunajec, 199 

Durazzo, 180 

Eastern Prussia, Russian invasion of, 
176 

Eastern Galicia, Russian invasion of, 
176 

Ebert, Herr, appointed German Chan- 
cellor, 284 

Education Bill (1902), opposition to, 
129 

Edwards, Sir Frank, 98, 132 

Elections, parliamentary, (1885), 56; 
financial arrangements for, 94; 
(1900), 127; (1910), 164; (2nd 
1910), 166; (1918), 286, 306, 309; 
figures, 328 

Ellis, "Tom," 60, 77, 98 

Estimates, criticism of (1890), 92 

European War, menace of, 170; de- 
clared. 171 

Evans, David, schoolmaster of Llasy- 
stumdwy, 23, 38 

Evans, Sir Samuel, 65, 97 

Explosives Committee, formation of, 
208 

Extension of Rents Act, passed, 316 

Fairbairn, Principal, 341 
Falkenhayn, General, 269 
Finland, surrendered to Germany, 

292 
Fitzmaurice, M., in Figaro, 351 



INDEX 



385 



Fiume, question at Peace Confer- 
ence, 292 

Flavelle, Sir Richard, 356 

Foch, Marshal, Conference (July, 
1917), 262; appointed Generalis- 
simo, 268; exercises powers of dis- 
position, 27s; conditions of Armis- 
tice, 282 

Fontainebleau, 302 

Fourteen Points, President Wilson 
declares them, 282 

Franchise, extension of, 307 

French, Viscount, and shell crisis 
(1915), 213 

Qalicia, German preparations, 193; 
fighting in, 196 

Gallipoli, 179; evacuation of, 205 

Geddes, Sir Eric, appointed Director 
of Transport, France, 233; defends 
Transport Bill, 323 

Gee,_ Thomas, and Anti-Tithe Cam- 
paign, 62, 83 

George,_ Right Hon. D. Lioyd, for 
principal dates in life see Appen- 
dix I 

George, Gwilym Lloyd (son), 302 

George, Mair Lloyd (daughter), 98; 
death of, 149 

George, Mary (sister), 13, 18 

George, Megan Lloyd (daughter), 
302 

George, Olwen Lloyd (daughter), 98 

George, Richard Lloyd (son), 94, 100, 
122 

George, William (father), 13, 16 

George, Mrs. William (mother), 13, 
16, 18, 21, 36 

George, William (brother), 18, 29, 

^ 55, 56, 94 , 

German Navy League, 156 

Germany, tour in, 150; relations with 
England (:9o8-i4), 160; strength 
(in 1915), 197; advance (in March, 
1918), 274; mutiny of Fleet, 284 

Gladstone, Mr., Government of 1880, 
51; in debate (1884), 53; letter 
at by-election (1890), 84; at Ha- 
warden, 90; and Clergy Discipline 
Bill, 102; resignation of (1894), 
104 

Glasgow, speech at, during South 
African War, 117 

Glyndwr, Owen, 69 

Goffey, Thomas, 37 

Gorizia, 246, 253 

Gray's Inn, first London home, 95 

Greece, as neutral, 179; Entente frus- 
trated by King, 184; agrees to join 
in war, 186; refuses, 197; offers 
troops and fleet for Dardanelles, 
189; offers again to enter war, 192 

Grey, Lord, and South African War, 
lis; evidence on Dardanelles, 200 

Haig, F.-M. Lord, agreement with 

Foch, 27 5_ 
Hamburg, visit to, 156 
Handel, 339 



Hankey, Sir M., at Peace Conference, 
289 

Harcourt, Sir Wm., approval of 
maiden speech, 91; leader of House 
of Commons, 105 

Health Ministry Bill, introduced and 
passed 315 

Henry, Sir Charles, 150 

Henry of Prussia, Prince, criticism 
of estimates providing for and ex- 
penditure on, 92 

Hertling, Count, resignation of, 273 

Hervier, Paul Louis, in Je Sais Tout, 
352 

"Highgate,'' 18, 36, 40 

Hobhouse Miss E. and South African 
Concentration Camps, 120 

Home Rule (1885-6), 52, 84, 103; 
speech to exclude Ulster (1910), 
351; for Wales, 82, loi, 106 

House, Colonel, 287; and Bullitt Mis- 
sion, 296 

House of Commons, suspension from, 
iii; scene over Defaulting Au- 
thorities Bill, 133 

Housing Bill introduced and passed, 
314 

Hughes, Mr., at Peace Conference, 
288 

Indemnities, telegram from M.P.'s, 
300 

India, extension of self-government, 
316 

Indian Patriot, article in, 357 

Industrial Courts Act passed, 316 

Insurance, National, investigation of 
German system, 150; preparation of 
Bill, 167; passing of Bill, 168; in- 
spiration of, 332 

Ireland, conscription extended to, 
279; outline of new proposals, 316 

Isonzo, 246, 253 

Italian Press, opinions of, 352 

Italy, declares war on Austria, 200; 
situation (in 19 17), 245; German 
advance (1917), 252; British rein- 
forcements for, 25 s 

Ivangorod, 200 

Johnson, Dr., 50 

Jones, "Bobby," 20 

Jones, J. R., of Ramoth, 17 

Jones, Miss, niece of Richard Lloyd, 

21 
Jones, Michael of Bala, 59 
Jones, Rev. Richard, Llanfrothen, 

68 
Journal de Geneve, 358 

Kaiser, the, part played in politics 
by (1908), 156; abdication of, 284 

Kavalla, fear of Bulgarians seizing, 
189 

Kemmel, 278 

Kerensky, M., destroyed by Lenin, 
272 

Kieff, 272 



386 



INDEX 



King Edward VII, 149; visit to Czar, 

154; death of, 164 

King George V, Conference of Party 
Leaders (1910), 164; formation of 
Government of Mr. Lloyd George, 
242; friendship of, 343 

Kitchener, Lord, view of length of 
war, 172, 178; troops for Greece, 
185; at the War Office, 210; Muni- 
tion Committee, 213; shell crisis 
(1915), 214; death, 232, 262, 265 

Koltchak, Admiral, 297 

Kovno, 200 

Kropotkin, Prince, 346 

Kruger, President, 114 

Labour Conference, Central Hall, 309 
Labour Party, joins Government, 
243; leaves Coalition, 307; in op- 
position, 309 
Land Acquisition Act passed, 316 
Land, appointment of Committee of 
Inquiry, 168; preparation of Bills 

(1914), 170 

Lansdowne, Lord, 163 

Lansing, Mr., and Committee of 
League of Nations, 298 

Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, 3S6 

League of Nations, conception of 
scheme, 298 

Lemnos, 295 

Lenin, destroys Kerensky Govern- 
ment, 272, 279 

Lens, 252 

he Journal, 351 

L'CEuvre, 349 

Le Tetnps, 349 

Lewis, Mr. Herbert, 98, no, in 

Leygues, Georges, in Evknement, 347 

Licensing Act (1905), 136 

Lithuania, surrendered to Germany, 

Llanystumdwy, 11, 20, 23, 39, 42, 169 

Llanfrothen, 66 

Lloyd, Richard (uncle), 24, 31, 35> 
39, 45, 72, 93, loi 

Lloyd, David (grandfather), 20 

Local Veto, resolution at meeting of 
National Liberal Federation, 81 

London, first visit, 49; commence- 
ment of practice, 97 

Loucheur, M., 287 

Lowther, Right Hon. J. W., I33 

Ludendorff, General, attack on Italy, 
252, 270; waning of hopes of, 278; 
suggestion for armistice by, 2S1 

Macedonia, Allies to occupy, 192 

Maddocks, A., 41 

Manchester, Isirthplace, 14; meeting 
of National Liberal Federation, Si; 
speech (1918), 281 

Manchester Guardian, Mr. Lloyd 
George writes for, 98 

Manisty, Mr. Justice, and Llan- 
frothen, 68 

Marconi Controversy, 169 

Markham, Sir Arthur, 166 

Marlborough, the Duke of, 163 



Marne, the, 280 

Martineau, Henry, 14 

Maurice, Major-General Sir F., Let- 
ter to Press and retirement, 267 

Max of Baden, Prince, overtures to 
President Wilson, 282; resignation 
of, 284 

Merchant Shipping Act (1906), 142 

Meredith, George, admiration of, 339 

Merionethshire, 133 

Messines, 278 

Metropolitan Tabernacle, speech on 
Welsh Disestablishment at, 26 

Mezieres, 274 

Milan, 247, 253 

Military control, effect of divided, 
249; need for unification, 250; 
unity of command decided on, 254; 
speech at Paris on (1917), 258 

Military Service Acts (19 16), effect 
of, 231; (1917) introduced, 272; 
raising of age, 278 

Millet, Philippe, 349 

Milner, Lord, 114; attends Peace 
Conference, 287 

Miners' crisis, Sankey Commission 
appointed, 311 

Minsk, 2y2 

Mens, 175, 284 

Montagu, Mr. E., Munition State- 
ment (1916), 221, 224, 229; joins 
Government (19 16), 243; attends 
Peace Conference, 287 

Morley, Lord, 112, 149, 197 

Morning Post, attacks on Govern- 
ment, 309; interview with Signor 
Bissolati, 353 

Morvin House, Criccieth, 45, SS 

Moulton, Lord, and Committee on 
Munitions, 230 

Munitions, need for, 206; committee 
appointed, 213; Mr. Lloyd George 
becomes Minister of, 216; forma- 
tion of Department, 218; trades 
unions and "leaving certificates," 
22s ; organisation of volunteer 
workers, 228 

Mynydd Ednyfed, home of Mrs. 
Lloyd George, 69, 72 



Nancy, 151 

Nanney, Sir Ellis Hugh, opponent at 
election (1890), 83, 87, 105 

Nantlle, Lake, prosecution of quarry- 
men for fishing, 64 

Nansen, Dr., proposed Russian expe- 
dition. 297 

Neuve (ihapelle, 199 

Nevin, speech on South African 
War, 123 , 

Newcastle Programme (1891), 103 

Newman, Cardinal, 50 

Nivelle, General, 245; Chamjiagne 
attack, 252; replaced by Petain, 
252 

Norman, Sir Henry, 163 

Northcliffe, Lord, and communica- 
tions on, the Eastern Front, 240 



INDEX 



38T 



North Wales Observer, article on 

Mr. Chamberlain, 51 
Novo-Georgievsk, 200 

Old Age Pensions, parsing of Act, 

150, 161; increase in, 316 
Orlando, Signer, and question of 

Fiume, 294 
Owen, D. Lloyd, 42 
Owen, Rev. John, y2 
Owen, Miss Maggie (Mrs. Lloyd 

George), 59; marriage of, 71 
Owen, Mrs., of Dolgelly (Llan- 

frothen), 66 
Owens, Rev. Owen, 25 
Oxford, impressions of, 326 

Palace Mansions, Kensington, second 
London home, 95 

Paris, speech on unity of control at, 
258; German attack towards, 
(1918), 280; social life during 
Peace Conference in, 300 

Parry, John, and Anti-tithe Cam- 
paign, 62, 83 

Passchendaele, 252 

Patents Act, 144 

Peace Conference, preliminaries, 286; 
first meeting, 288; correspondents 
at, 289; proposed Bolshevist Confer- 
ence, 29s 

Peace Treaty, presented and ratified, 
303 

Pedigree of Mr. Lloyd George, 13 

Pencaenewydd, place of marriage, 
72 

Penrhyn, 55 

Retain, General, 245 

Phillimore Report, basis of League of 
Nations, 298 

Philippi, Philippo, 246 

Pichon, M., 287 

Piatt, Colonel, opponent at election 
(1900), 95 

Poisoned arrow incident, 324 

Portmadoc, 11, 41, 46, 55, 94, 96, 122; 
Debating Society, 47 

Poland, surrendered to Germany, 
273; question of Peace Confer- 
ence, 293, 303 

Port of London Act, 14s 

Prime Minister, Mr. Lloyd George 
sent for by the King, 242 

Prinkipo, 295 

Puleston, Sir John, opponent at sec- 
ond election, 105 

Pwllheli, 14, 123 

Queen Victoria, 80 

Railway strikes, threat of (1907), 

146; (1919), 311 
Rapallo Conference, 254 
Reinforcements, situation, March 

(1918), 276 
Religious tendencies, 340 
Rendel, Lord, 337 
Repington, Lieut. -Colonel C. A'C., 

Times shell despatch, 214 



Rheims, 151 

Ritchie, Lord, and creation of County 
Councils, 80 

Roberts, A. Rhys, professional part- 
ner in London, 97, 122 

Roberts, Mr. G. H., remains in Gov- 
ernment, 308 

Robertson, Sir Wm., Allied Confer- 
ence (1917), 262; opposition to 
Versailles Council, 264; refuses 
position on Versailles Council, 267 

Rome, Allied Conference (1917), 248 

Roosevelt, President, 336, 355 

Rosebery Government, fall of, 105; 
resignation, 112 

"Rose Cottage," boyhood home, 18 

Rothschild Pensions Committee, 138 

Routh Road, Wandsworth, London 
home, 119 

Rue Nitot, residence in Paris during 
Peace Conference, 301 

Rumania, _ 179, 184; Greek conditions 
of joining war, 186; less friendly, 
188; success of Germans, 196; de- 
clares war, 23 s 

Russia, situation, opening of (1915), 
178; fearful of Greece, 191; diverts 
Germans from Serbia, 192; col- 
lapse, 272; proposed Bolshevist Con- 
ference, 295 

Saar Valley, 292, 303 

St. Asaph, Bishop of, 132 

St. Quentin, 268, 275 

Salisbury, Lord, 248 

Salonika, 179, 180, 295 

Samsonoff, General 175 

Samuel, Mr. Herbert, refuses oiEce, 
243 

Sanitorium benefit, creation, 333 

Sankey Commission, inquiry into con- 
dition of miners, 311 

Sarn Melltcyrn, debate with curate 
(1887), 62 

Sartor Resartus, 46 

Schools Act (1904-6), 136 

Scotland Yard, 319 

Scott, Sir Walter, 50 

Serbia, question of saving, 187; Bos- 
nia and Herzegovina to be given 
to, 192; plan to assist, 202. 

Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 41 

Shortt, Mr., Transport Bill, 313 

Sidebotham, Herbert, 120 

Siedlce, 200 

Silesia, Plebiscite, 293, 303 

Smuts General, 119; Memo, on 
League of Nations, 298 

Sofia, 187 

Soissons, 151 

Somerset House,_ investigation of 
system of working, 329 

Sorel, M., 312 

South African War, outbreak, 114; 
opposition to, 116, 117 

Strassburg, 151 

Stavridi, Sir John, suggests Mr. 
Lloyd George should go to the Bal- 
kans, 190 



388 



INDEX 



Stuttgart, 153; conversation at, 327 

Suffragettes, in favour of leniency, 
32s 

Sullivan, Donald, no 

Swetenham, Mr. Q.C., M.P., Car- 
narvon Boroughs (1886), ^^•, death, 



Tagliamento, 253 

Tannenberg, 175 

Tariff Reform, fight against (1903- 
6), 137 

Tariff Reform L/cague, 164 

Tardieu, M., 287 

Temple, The, London home, 95 

Tennant, Mr. H. J., and shell crisis 
(1915), 214 

Tery, Gustave, in ha Victowe, 350 

Thomas, M. Albert, friendship with, 
187; rearming of France, 211; 
Munitions Conference, 220, 347 

Thomas, Mr. D. A. (Lord Rhondda), 
107 

Thomas, Mr. J. H., and railway 
strike, 313 

Thomasson, Mr. F., Transfer of 
Daily News, 121 

Ticino, 246 

Times, The, attack on Asquith Gov- 
ernment (19 16), 240 

Transport Bill, introduced and 
passed, 313 

Treasury, habits of work at, 329 

Trevelyan, Sir George, 53 

Tithes Bill (1899), 112 

Trotsky, M., attempts to declare 
peace, 272 

Trumpet of Freedom (1888), 76 

Tube strike, 309 

Turkey, strength (in 1915), 198; sur- 
renders, 283; forfeited right to rule 
over Christians, 300 

Turnin, 247, 253 

Udine, 253 

Ukraine, surrendered to Ciermans, 273 
Ulster, crisis (1914), 170; speech to 
exclude (1910), 337 



Valenciennes, 284 

Venice, 253 

Venizelos, M. Greece agrees to join 
Allies, 186; refuses, 188; Bulgaria 
pledged to Central Powers, 190; 
resignation of, 193; resumes office, 
194; mainstay of alliance in Near 
East, 300, 346 

Verdun, 302 

Versailles Council, set up, 255; func- 
tions, and opposition to, 258; de- 
fence in House of Commons, 262; 
meetings of, 280 

Vienna, 248 

Villa Murat, Parisian residence of 
President Wilson, 301 

Villers Bretonneux, 278 

Vitry, 151 

Voluntary Schools Bill (1897), lOQ- 
III 

Voluntary system of recruiting, 
doubts as to, 199 

Von Below, General, attack on Italy, 
252 

Von Tirpitz, Admiral, 269 

Vosges, The, 151 

War, Secretary of State for, Mr. 
Lloyd George appointed (1916), 233 

War Cabinet, formation (1916), 244 

War Committee, suggested daily sit- 
tings, 178 

Warsaw, 176, 200 

Watkins, Sir Edward, 100 

White, Mr. Henry, 287 

Williams, Llewellyn, 98 

Williams, William, boyhood friend, 
24, 29 

Wilson, President, 158; organises re- 
inforcements (1918), 276; overtures 
from Prince Max, 282; arrives at 
Paris, 286; at Peace Conference, 
290; League of Nations scheme, 
298, 299; return from America of, 
303; contrast, 355 

Ypres, 199, 252 

Zeppelin, Count, 153 






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